/ 
740 FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
gave a bird small, but excellent layers, poor sitters, and 
worse mothers, better layers than the maternal stock ; but 
for general utility far inferior to either parents. All at- 
tempts to perpetuate a variety from a cross bred fowl will 
prove abortive, for they soon degenerate to the old dunghill 
stock. A friend of mine added two fine Brahma cocks a few 
years ago to his flock, and in three years his fowls were 
smaller than when he concluded to improve his stock, and 
be didn’t like Brahmas anymore. When you buy fancy 
fowls be sure to buy hens as well as roosters, and be sure to 
add fresh blood at least every two years or as occasion may 
occur, or every effort to prove successful will prove futile. 
I am glad Burnham and Wright have about got through 
their controversy. I. Rumbold. 
Fowling Creek, Md., Dec. 1874. 
PiqEOf^ DEp^JjVlEflp 
ALMOND TUMBLERS. 
Mr. Editor : 
For a quarter of a-century I have been a great admirer of 
Almond Tumblers, and since the special prize for the finest 
bird at the late Crystal Palace (London) Show was so 
gracefully won by Mr. Fulton's bird, I have been congratu- 
lated, perhaps, as often as that gentleman himself, upon the 
now acknowledged supremacy of the variety. All fanciers 
of pigeons should now “throw up the sponge” and yield 
the title “ king of pigeons ” to the smallest of the tribe, the 
Almond, since he has come forward with his jaunty step, 
harlequin coat, swelling breast, full forehead, tiny beak, 
pearl eye, and small feet (a point which tells of high caste 
as well in the human race), and proved itself worthy to be 
proclaimed, by the most competent judges in Great Britain, 
the finest specimen among the greatest variety of the most 
splendid birds ever exhibited at a single show. 
Supposing it true he won on feather, though birds of bet- 
ter knobs (heads) may have been present, is not feather a 
grand point? And that property I think ought to rank first 
in Almonds, from the mere fact of its designating the va- 
riety. 
The latter remark may find many opposers among head 
fanciers, but the way to test it would be to put it to vote by 
the judges, who so critically examined the class of short- 
faces at the Palace Show. I am aware there are points that 
have as prominent claims as feather to the first position, but 
I think the question of points should be finally settled, and 
would like to see them placed in the following order: feather , 
carriage , head and beak, eye , and size. 
Should any fancier wish to familiarize himself with 
the above points (not all to be found in a single bird), 
I will take pleasure in showing them in my coop, where can 
be examined the Almond cock which last year (1873) won 
the cup as the best bird in a lot of over six hundred and forty- 
two of them, short-faces, at the show at Bradford, Yorkshire, 
England ; an Almond hen, daughter of the first-prize hen at 
the last Crystal Palace Show, and many other shows, and 
which has as yet never been beaten ; also a pair, winners of 
many prizes in Scotland; and the gem of my collection, a 
red, whole-feather cock, winner of cups and other prizes at 
the principal shows held in Great Britain, he having last year 
taken first in a large class at Birmingham, third at the 
Crystal Palace, and the first at Glasgow in the hest class 
of short-faces ever shown, vide Journal of Horticulture , 
where he again and successfully competed with the birds at 
the Crystal Palace Show. Marble. 
Baltimore, Md. 
Jos. M. Wade, Esq. 
Dear Sir: Received Fanciers' Journal, Nos. 47 and 48. 
I see you have enlarged it some. I like it very well ; al- 
though no fancier myself, have only Commons, Tumblers, 
and Fantails. 
Please answer the following questions in the Fanciers' 
Journal, Nos. 49 and 50. 
1. How to tel! the difference between a he and a she pigeon? 
2. I have my pigeons in a loft which is 12 x 12 feet, how 
many pigeons could be put in there without being too full? 
3. Do the fanciers in Philadadepliia have their pigeons flying 
around or not? 4. How can I tell whether my Tumblers 
are full-blooded or not? R. E. W. 
Myerstown, Pa., Nov. 27, 1874. 
[1. It is difficult to answer this question, as we have known 
the smartest of fanciers to be puzzled for days together. In 
some cases they can be detected in a moment, when put to- 
gether, as the cock will play around the hen in such a way 
that no one can be mistaken. The first thing an experienced 
fancier will do, after looking them over to see whether the 
bird has a masculine or feminine look, is to feel the bones 
near the vent ; if wide apart it is in favor of being a female, 
but not by any means certain. It is by experience alone 
that this can be learned. Take a pair of birds, male and 
female, put them in a cage and watch them closely for 
awhile, and, in ordinary cases, you will soon be able to tell. 
2. It will depend a good deal on the number of perches and 
and boxes in the room ; we would not advise over twelve 
pair, as they will soon increase and crowd the loft. 3. High- 
class birds, such as Carriers, Pouters, and Almonds, are 
hardly ever flown either in this city or any other. 4. A 
Tumbler may be full-blooded and yet worthless. Judge 
them by their performing qualities when on the wing. — Ed.] 
PIGEON FLYING. 
Mr. Jos. M. Wade: 
Knowing that it will interest many of your readers, I 
propose to give an account of a few short matches which 
came off recently in this city. 
The first being between Mr. Fred. Wood and Mr. John 
Rostron. The birds flew from Bridgeport, Montgomery 
County, for $10 a side. Mr. Wood’s bird winning in 20 
minutes and 45 seconds. 
The second fly being a sweepstake between ten Philadel- 
phia fanciers, took place on the 26th of November, from 
Chestnut Hill. Mr. Robert Moore’s pigeon making the best 
time, 11 minutes and 30 seconds, winning the sweepstake. 
Mr. Wood’s bird making second-best time, 12 minutes and 
30 seconds, and winning the second prize of $5. The names 
of the gentlemen in this sweepstake being, Messrs. Blue, 
Grist, Quigley, Wood, Moore, Loney, Kershaw, Dalton, and 
Buckley. 
After the above sweepstake, Mr. Kershaw challenged the 
winner from the same place. Mr. Wood accepted the chal- 
lenge for $5 a side (the same day). Mr. Wood’s bird win- 
ning in 17 minutes, beating Mr. Kershaw’s pigeon by 3 
minutes and 17 seconds. Thomas Grist, 
Antwerp Fancier. 
