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FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND-POULTRY:) EXOHANGE: 



public opinion, because the general public, including modern 
fanciers, at sight appreciate a compact, short-beaked pigeon, 
rather than a long-beaked one, and any one can be convinced 
of this by a little attention to the remarks of the non-amateur 
visitors to the large pigeon shows. 
The only long-beaked varieties some of the general public 
appreciate, are the Pouters, the Fantails, the double-capped 
Trumpeters, &c., possessing some remarkable and pleasing 
attraction; and is not the Carrier most remarkable? I say 
decidedly it is; but we cannot prevent the general public, 
and especially the ladies, from saying, ‘*Oh! what unsightly, 
deformed beaks and sore eyes these birds have. Are they 
well, poor creatures??? Although there is something re- 
markable and pleasant in the Pouter, Fantail, Trumpeter, 
&¢c., they do not approach the short-beaked varieties in public 
estimation even in England, where the latter are of com- 
paratively modern introduction; but in countries where 
there are plenty, and such specimens as England has not 
seen yet, the long-beaked varieties have disappeared, or if 
any, are in the loft of some old lady or gentleman, like my 
uncle, who kept Runts, and large Trumpeters, whose progeny 
he had cooked by passing through them a long iron rod. 
They had to be turned by this rod over a charcoul fire, satu- 
rating them constantly with butter, and powdering them 
with ground biscuit till ready for the table, and I assure you 
they were infinitely superior to any which had been made 
into a pie. 
The Carriers, Pouters, Fantails, Trumpeters, Runts, &c., 
are, of course, well known, and of great perfection in this coun- 
try, so they need no comment from me. I pass, therefore, to 
the moderate-sized and short-beaked varieties. There are in 
this country Archangels, Nuns, Magpies, Swallows, Jacobins, 
&c., perfection, also of the short-beaked kinds there are per- 
fect specimens of Almonds, of course, Owls and Barbs, but 
unfortunately not of Turbits, I must say that I have not yet 
seen a well-formed and good-colored Turbit, such as I met 
with on the continent, where the black is as good as a good 
black Barb’s, the red a deep warm red, and the yellow a fine 
deep orange yellow, all shining naturally, as if they were 
varnished, instead of the generally faded dead-looking colors 
I see on their feathers in England. To my surprise, instead 
of persevering to improve this most important property, 
breeders have given their attention to breeding clear-thighed 
birds, which should be quite a secondary consideration. The 
eye, also, of the Turbits in this country is quite insignificant ; 
the good continental Turbits have the lash around the eye 
of a most remarkable buff color, contrasting most beautifully 
with the black eye, and increasing its apparent size. 
In looking at the most interesting ‘‘new variety ”’ class 
in our large shows, I always think of the answer I received 
from a great German new-variety breeder for the English 
market. I asked what is the origin of the Ice Pigeon, the 
Fairy, the Satin Swallow, and the like? The answer—‘ I 
mingle together in my loft a dozen of each of the following 
breeds: Hyacinths, Swallows, and Spots, of different colors, 
and Archangels; cocks of the two breeds, and hens of the 
other two, so that I may be sure of having crosses, and I 
obtain more new varieties than I can find names for !’? And 
who can deny that nearly all the different new varieties have 
one and the same character? Certainly there are some with 
beautiful plumage, such as the Satin Swallow, but the variety 
from which it has taken half of its name, the Satinette is 
admitted to be the new variety which has revolutionized the 
fancy. The Satinettes have done what no other variety ever 

did; in fact, they have tired the judges awarding them 
prizes, to such an extent that one judge said he must give 
the turn to others for encouragement. I never yet heard 
any fancier or observer say that he had seen anything prettier 
in the pigeon tribe, and I never expected meeting with any- 
thing approaching them anywhere till I saw this breed, 
which is a production of Africa, and my opinion most decid- 
edly has been verified in England. The Satinettes possess 
as great perfection of plumage as any of the known new 
varieties, if not a superiority in that respect, with as exqui- 
site and compact a form of head as the owl, including the 
frill. They are grouse-muffed, and the most remarkable of 
their properties are the tail feathers, which are of similar 
color to those of the blue Owls, only darker, and at the ex- 
tremity of each feather there is a white spot as large asa 
shilling, which is the admiration and puzzle of every fancier, 
as they are the only known variety possessing this beautiful 
peculiarity.—Journal of Horticulture. 

PEKIN (CHINA) DUCKS. 
Mr. James E. Palmer, of Stonington, whilst on a visit to 
China, in 1873, procured a large number of China Ducks, 
all of which, except one drake and three ducks, died on the 
passage. Those he succeeded in getting to his farm alive, 
but dwarfed by the long voyage. . Before he suspected them 
of laying, he found a lot of their eggs in a small branch 
running through the pasture, where they were confined. 
They laid constantly until the last of July, something over 
one hundred eggs each. Fifty birds in all were raised. 
The eggs hatch in twenty-five days, and the young birds 
are about one-third larger than the Rouens when they first 
come out of the shell, and grow more rapidly through the 
season. 
Mr. Palmer exhibited some of these ducks at the late Ex- 
hibition of the Connecticut State Poultry Society, and the 
largest pair, only five months old, weighed fifteen pounds, 
without any fattening or special preparation. They are 
clear white, with a yellowish tinge to the under part of the 
feathers, which are very thick and downy. The wing pri- 
maries and all of the flight feathers are remarkably short, 
showing that they have long been domesticated, and are 
not disposed to fly much. They are very hardy, not mind- 
ing snow or rain; are easily kept in small inclosures; and 
only are given a little clean water and regular feeding to 
raise them successfully. When they have a good run, they 
are excellent foragers, and will take care of themselves as 
readily as any other breed of ducks. They have large yel- 
low bills and reddish eyes. Their long, graceful necks, 
their white plumage, and remarkable size, make them pleas- 
ing objects upon the water or about the farm-yard and 
lawn, and have excited a great deal of interest among all 
poultry funciers who have seen them. 

PET SPARROWS. ° 
There is an indescribable charm in the law of kindness. 
Few living things resist its power. Force is grinding, 
stirring up rebellious thoughts. Gentle treatment over- 
comes, by magic as it wére, and holds the subject a willing 
captive. Here isalittlestory from Land and Water, showing 
the effect of a fair-browed girl’s love for the sparrow. A 
correspondent writes : f 
‘‘In the Summer of 1870 my little sister got two young 
sparrows quite small from a nest, which she succeeded in 
* 
