PIGEON PARAGRAPHS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 154, 5 August 1914, Page 2

PIGEON PARAGRAPHS.

(By ".JACOBIN.") I The Melbourne Pigeon Improvement Society held its second annual open show in Melbourne on July 10 and 11. There were well over 500 exhibits staged, the breeds which provided the Jpest competition being as follows: — Flyers .. .. 83 Tumblers 85 Prills 74 Fantails Magpies 45 Special for best'adult pigeon in the. show was awarded to a Black Magpie hen, shown by Mr Hal. Campbell, of Ballarat, and special for best .youngster was secured by a South Australian African Owl, shown by Mr A. E. Miller. Mr Ted. Furness, late of England, judged the magpies, and Mr E. J. Fallu, at one time of New Zealand, judged all the frilled varieties and also several other classes. Mr J. W. Swan's Dun Pied African Owl cock, bred in 1902, again won at Birkenhead Show (England) in June last-. The judge on this occasion was Mr A. A. Gatty. This same pigeon won at the same show last .year, and his picture was at that time given on the front page of "Pigeons," England. He must be a wonderful pigeon, to be- winning good prizes at the age of 1 12 years. African Owls have improved wonderfully during that time, and yet this old Dun still holds his end of the stick up. During his long career, he has been seven times first and twice second at the greatest of all shows —the Crystal Palace —and he has achieved premier honours at most of the other great shows in England. Who can now say that African Owls are not hardy and long-lived ? The following is very apposite just at the present time, and especially to younger fanciers. It is taken from a series of articles, specially devoted to young fanciers, which Mr W. Watinough, is contributing to the pages of "Pigeons":—"On going round your loft in the morning you may find a youngster quite cold and neglected. For some reason or other its parents have lost their affetion for it, or, at any rate, they have left it in the hands qf a very cruel fate. However near death such a squab-may appear, th&re' is always a probability of saving iL/and no effort should be spared in this direction. It may be your best youngster of the season. Who knows? I have v seen young pigeons lying in the nest pan as though they were dead, and which the uninitiated would have thown into the dustbin, that have, by an effort, described below, been brought J back to life and eventually into healthy, strong birds. Pigeons!; really take a lot of killing. |j '' As soon as a squab or a squeaker •: is found in this state of collapse, it: should be taken in the warm hands of, the owner and held before .the fire until; the heat of the body is restored. Wrapped in flannel, it should then be placed in a small basket near the fire.... .While the squab is being warmed in the hands, brandy might be administered- with* advantage. It may be given in-a< teaspoon, and diluted with warm wateij until it just; ta'stes of the brandy. < iA ;yery w r eak mixture is. all that is required. This stimulates the action of the: and many, and often does, just; pull! the pigeon on to the right side of "itjhe. inarrow Hue which divides life l' from death." , . ; ;' i; Mr James; C. Lyell occasionally contributes some very interesting matter to the same paper. Mr Lyell is a fancier who has had a-world-wide experience of pigeons, and there is probably. no-bet-ter informed man generally on, the great pigeon family. In a recent tion to this English paper, he says:-^ "The grizzle colour in pigeons is somewhat of the same nature as roan in horses. It is a sprinkling of i white hairs or white fibres of feathers-tlhrdugh the body colour. Among common Tumblers, bred entirely for their performances and without reference to-feather at all, there- used to be lots of frizzles of all colours—black, blue, redj yellow, and dun; and besides there .were . what old faneiers denqniinated haggles. Among Dfa goons, there have always been .-.blue grizzles, but I.; .-have not seen or heard, of, a grizzle Pouter, jCarrier, lurbit, or Owl. I don't think thegfizzle colour can be bred from any calculated mixing of colour, so that to get it in.';' common- Flying Beards a cross of something having it would require to be used. It is a colour that must have originated by chance and only exists, as far as I have seen, in Dragoons,. Tumblers, and French Runts '-''•.■• '- , r There have been bred of recent years Grizzle English. Owls, and thereoare in England now several of this colour in this variety. 'Mr A. A. Gatty, of Preston, has several, I believe, and MiLeech, one of the greatest English owl fanciers in the Old Country, hlso, I think, has some; or if lie has not, he certainly had them. All £he English owls of his fascinating colour ] are descended from the stock „of Miv E: J . van Senden, of Adelaide, South Australia, who picked up in an Amsterdam zoo (I think it was) a Grizzled Owl pigeon. This pigeon he brought to Australia with him, and the result we now have. There is one funny thing 1 about this colour in; English Owls. It js even better, though it lias been in existence so short a time, than the same colour as seen in Dragoons. Mr Gatty, who is certainly in a good position to (judge, is my authority for this statement. The same writer, in the same paper, also gives his views on the black-tailed question, as relating to Archangels. His views are certainly of groat interest, though I do pot suppose he will convince the members of the Archangel Club that they are wrong in their standard: — You lately published the standard of November 15, 1893, for this breed, which said that the tail should be a deep ebony black, and that a blue tail is a fault. As I explained in your columns some few years since, this is an uttqr delusion, and shows how hard it is, when it gets a good start, to kill a wrong statement. The true Archangel is not, never was, and never can be, bred on a black foundation. The best specimens ever seen have been bluetailed, which gives them an additional beauty. Captain Arthur Allen, at one time a j leading Archangel breeder in England, j and now living in Taranaki, has always been a strong supporter of the blacktailed Archangel, and it seems to me to. be a point well worth striving after. Even 1 though it is to au extent unnatural, still; that makes, the achieving of it all the* more worthi while. The meeting of the Christchureh Pigeon Club to-night is to be devoted to' a show for, junior members. The classes are for the following: L Owls. 2. Tumblers. 3. Any other variety fancy pigeon. A special prize will be given to the best pigeon shown, and it is hoped that a goodly number of juntors and their birds

will turn up. There is any amount of quality among the birds possessed by many of the younger members of the club.

STANDARDS OF THE EXHIBITION BREEDS OF PIGEONS.

THE CUMULET. Standard of excellence issued by the Cumulet Club: — Head. —Long, of nice even sweep, rising gradually from the beak, and round at back of skull,"showing no sign of flatness or squareness, but giving the bird a bold racy character. . Face. —Well drawn out, and evenly filled in between eye and mouth. Beak. —Flesh coloured or white, long and of fair substance, well set .on, and straight from the head, measuring about 1-Jin from the ceiitre of the eye to the tip of the beak. Wattle very fine, white and neat. Eye. —Iris pure opal white, pupil small, clearly defined, and placed exactly in the centre of the eye, giving the bird a very smart appearance. Cere. —Very fine and white as possible,. Body. —Symmetrical, keel of medium depth, full'in chest, strong wing butts, well proportioned throughout. i Carr&age.—Full of life, alert and graceful./' ! Feather.—Medium in length, flights broad and long and carried above tail. Tail to be carried horizontally, i.e., well off the ground. Legs. —Of medium length, free from feathers below the hock. Colour.- —Either pure white throughout, or-marked .with a fawny-red chuck, or slightly ticked on hackle of neck,; pure white on head, chest, body, flights and tail. Birds otherwise marked to be penalised accordingly. I SCALE OF POINTS. j Skull . . ~ .. .. .. 10 Face .. .. 10 Beak 5 Eye 20 Cere . . .. .. 10 Body 15 Carriage .. .. .. •. ..15 , Feather .'. 10 J Colour ... .. .. .. ..\\ &' j, 100 j Condition. —A bird out of condition j loses points accordingly. Disqualifications —Cutting \or plucking.