HOMING PIGEON RACING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9087, 12 May 1908, Page 6

HOMING PIGEON RACING.

HOW THE RACES ARE CON-

DUCTED,

(Contributed)

Now that homing pigeon racing is becoming a popular past-time in Masterton, a little information in regard to the "timing-in" of the birds will no doubt be of interest to readers. In the first place, all the birds that are entered for a particular race have to be handed ir. to the judge the night previous, when a privately marked rubber r;ing is attached to the leg of each pigeon. They are then put into the large race hamper, which is to convey them to the town where they are to be liberated; needless to say the owners are not allowed to see their birds while in the hamper. Each competitor is equipped with a specially constructed clock for timing the return of the bird. In the case of this clock is a small drawer for the purpose of receiving tha privately marked race ring, which has to be taken off the pigeon's leg when it returns and enters the loft. Before each race a judge stops these clocks by opening the drawer and sets them all to the same time exactly, afterwards sealing up the case so that it is impossible to alter the hands without breaking the seal. The only means then of starting the clock is by closing the drawer which automatically locks itself. Anyone starting his clock before he has put the race ring in, would find it impossible to afterwards insert it, and no notice would be taken of the time of his clock. To be brief, each competitor has a clock stopped at exactly the same time, which he starts when he catches his bird after its return. The precautions mentioned heretofore, making it useless for him to start it earlier. When the clocks are handed to 1 the judge after the return of the birds, it is an easy matter to determine the result, the owner of the clock that has been going longest being che winner. Accurate allowance is made for the difficult distances that members lofts are from the race point. In fact, it is not an uncommon thing for Homing Pigeon Clubs in adjacent towns to combine for a big race. It is usual to give the result of a race by the velocity per minute that the birds flew. This is computed by dividing the number of minutes taken by the bird into the number of yards in the whole distance.