,
in the wild state. Moreover, the possibility of making distinct races by
crossing has been greatly exaggerated. Many cases are on record showing
that a race may be modified by occasional crosses if aided by the careful
selection of the individuals which present the desired character; but to
obtain a race intermediate between two quite distinct races would be very
difficult. Sir J. Sebright expressly experimented with this object and
failed. The offspring from the first cross between two pure breeds is
tolerably and sometimes (as I have found with pigeons) quite uniform in
character, and every thing seems simple enough; but when these mongrels are
crossed one with another for several generations, hardly two of them are
alike, and then the difficulty of the task becomes manifest.
BREEDS OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON, THEIR DIFFERENCES AND ORIGIN.
Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I have, after
deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept every breed which I
could purchase or obtain, and have been most kindly favoured with skins
from several quarters of the world, more especially by the Hon. W. Elliot
from India, and by the Hon. C. Murray from Persia. Many treatises in
different languages have been published on pigeons, and some of them are
very important, as being of considerable antiquity. I have associated with
several eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to join two of the London
Pigeon Clubs.
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