582 
FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
PiqEopJ DEf^qjjviEjyly. 
“MOUNTAIN MOTTLES,” 
Sometimes called “White Wings ” and “ Duncannon Mot- 
tles, ” were originated in this country by Mr. Langhorne 
Wister, of this city, while he resided at Duncannon, in the 
mountains in this State; hence the name “Mountain Mot- 
tles.” Mr. Wister commenced breeding these birds from 
Imported Mottles or Rose Wings. Finding the stock after 
moulting inclined to white shoulders, he selected carefully 
birds of this type until the breed was fully established. They 
are about the size of a flying tumbler, with a good pearl eye 
and a rather short beak, which is always light-colored in good 
specimens. They are of two colorings, red and yelloiv, but 
sometimes cream-colored birds will appear. They are white- 
shouldered (exactly the reverse of a Red or Yellow-shoul- 
dered Turbit). The entire body, including the primary and 
secondary wing feathers, is of one color, theseapular and lesser 
and larger wing coverts being the only white feathers in good 
birds, making the entire shoulder white when at rest. They 
are good flyers and tumblers, but being bred more for color, 
they are not so good in the latter quality. All the specimens 
we have seen were well feathered on the legs, but not ex- 
tending to the toes. One peculiarity in this breed consists 
in its always leaving the nest a solid bird , the white feathers 
in the shoulder coming in with the first and second moult, 
making a beautiful and interesting specimen of the Tumbler 
variety. Mr. Wister has tried to produce white-shouldered 
blacks, but has not yet met with absolute success, although he 
has produced some fine birds of this color, but with a sprink- 
ling of white about the neck, otherwise they are all right. We 
have never known or heard of other fanciers having or 
importing this variety of pigeon, yet on turning to Brent we 
find that a similar pigeon must have been known in England. 
He writes of them as follows : 
“ White-shouldered Tumblers. — I know not the fancy name 
for these, unless it be ‘Handkerchief,’ from their having as 
it were a white handkerchief dropped on their back. The 
whole of the wing shoulders, including the scapular feathers, 
is white, the rest of the plumage red or yellow. I do not 
remember seeing any other color.” 
This is all Mr. Brent has to offer on the subject, but is 
enough to show that the birds were well known to him at 
that time. It also shows that he had not then heard of the 
black white wings which Mr. Wister has produced. 
Allentown, August 28tli, 1874. 
Editor Fanciers’ Journal. 
Dear Sir : Will you please inform me through your 
valuable journal, whether it is necessary to separate the 
sexes of pigeons after breeding season. I see most all writers 
upon pigeons advises to that effect, but am not aware that 
it is actually carried out by fanciers; must they be separated 
so that they cannot see each other, or will any simple style 
of open-work partition be sufficient? I think it would be a 
good idea to give a short article on the subject in the Fan- 
ciers 1 Journal ; no doubt it would be valuable information to 
amateurs. I also think there is much to be learned to breed 
and raise pigeons successfully, and a few such hints would 
be satisfactorily received by the readers of your paper. 
Most respectfully yours, C. G. Trexler. 
[Fanciers are somewhat divided on the question of sep- 
arating the sexes in the fall. Some of our friends have done 
this, and say they will never do it again, giving as a reason 
that it was too much trouble to mate their birds up in the 
spring, but at the same time admitting that it was better 
for the birds. The only objection to letting them remain 
together is, that they, will have one or two nests of eggs or 
young that they cannot raise on account of the cold weather 
in this country ; and even if they were kept in a room arti- 
ficially heated, where they would be able to raise their young 
through the winter, in all probability the female would 
die, at least this has often been the case in our own loft, and 
even if she should survive the winter, it is very doubtful if 
she would raise more than one nest the following season. 
If you have a large loft of toys or low-priced birds let them 
remain together, unless you have plenty of room and time, 
but by all means separate your high-class birds, and keep 
them out of sight and hearing of each other if possible, al- 
though this is not absolutely necessary. If they should lay 
a pair of eggs while feeding their last young ones, put them 
under common pigeons and try to save them in this way. 
—Ed.] 
Recently a swimming match was arranged to take 
place at Eastbourne, England, between a fisherman and a 
mastiff dog. But there was no race, because the dog, once 
in the water with the man, supposed his duty there was to 
save the latter’s life, and persisted in his endeavors to keep 
the man afloat, by thrusting his head under his opponent’s 
chin. 
The Wants or a Great City. — New York re- 
quires annually 600,000 head of cattle, 800,000 sheep, 
1,000,000 hogs, 2,000,000 barrels of flour, and 800,000 bar- 
rels of corn and rye, with milk, fish, fruit, vegetables, and 
groceries to correspond. If large cities are sores in the 
body politic, they require a vast deal of medicine, supplied 
by the farmer-physician of the country; who, without this 
demand, would have to close up their granaries or medicine- 
chests. 
