Nature. The Homing Pigeon.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1964, 7 February 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

Nature. The Homing Pigeon.

By many people it is believed that thehomim; pigeon is guided in its wonderful flights bv Homeßpecial instinct; othera think that sight alone is the bird's guide. In the far-distant past, long before railways, telegraphs, or tele phones were dreamed of, pigeons weiousul to convey intelligence of all kinds from distant quarters ; and even in our own day and in time of peace, homing or carrier pigeons arc found exceedingly useful aa messengers in a hundred ways needless to name. In time of war their utility can hardly be overrated. The " Paris pigeon post "of the Franco German war of 1870-71 is well known. During the siege, when the gayeit city in the world was closely beleagured by the Prussians, and all communication with the outside world was totally cut off, homing pigeons, brought to Paris by balloons, found their way back to Tours and other places, bearing with them news of the beleaguered city. How welcome they must have been to the thousands of people who had friends and relatives in Paris at that time 1 The mos sages oarried by the pigeons were written or printed, then photographed on thin paper, the words being so reduced in size that it re quired the aid of a powerful magnifier to deoipher them. Those tiny documents were carried in small realed quills carefully fastened to the centre tail feathers. From the very moment of the arrival of the first homing pigeon the Paris pigeon-poet was firmlyestab lished as an institution ; and in times of war among all civilized nations the aerial voyaqeiir will in future doubtless play a most important part. There are in England a large number of cluba devoted tj pigeon-flying or pigeonracing ; but it is in Brussels that the sport i« carried out to the fullest extent. In Belgium alone there are at this moment nearly twentyfive hundred clubs, and every town, village, or district in the whole country goes in for its j weekly race. The birds are sent off on the Friday or Saturday by special trains, and are liberated in clouds of thousands on the Sunday mornings, two, three, four, or even five hundred miles from home. The homing pigeon of the present day is not only remarkably fond of tho cot and scenes around it wherein it has been bred and reared, but fond of its owner as well, and exceedingly sagacious and docile. The power of wing of this bird, is very great, and emulates the speed of the swiftest train, over five hundred miles being done sometimes in less than twelve hours. To train pigeons, before doing anything else in the matter, you must have a proper loft or pigeonry for your homing pets. This should be placed as high as possible, so that the birds, from their area or flight, may catch glimpses of the country all round, and thus familiarise themselves with it. The loft should be divided into two by means of a partition with a door in it, each apartment having an outlet to the urea in front. The one room is devoted to the young birds, the other to the old. Without illustrations it is somewhat difficult to describe the area or trap and its uses, but we will try. In its simplest form, then, it is a large wooden ctge — with a little platform in front of it — that is fixed against the pigeons' own private door to their loft. At the back of the cage is a sliding door, communicating with the loft, and in command of the owner of the pigeons, and another in the front of the cage. It is evident, then, that if you open the back door the bird can get into the area from the loft : and if you open the front one as well he can get out altogether, to fly about at his own sweet will. Keturning from his exercise when tired, if both trap or sliding doors are open, he can pass right through the cage into the loft ; if only the front door is open he can get no further than the interior of the cage or area. But independent of these trapdoors there are two little swing-doors, called bolting-wires — one in front of the cage, and one behind, that is, betwixt the area and the loft. The peculiarity of these swing-doors is this : they are hinged at the top, and open inwardly, being prevented from opening outwardly by a beading placed in front of them at the foot. Well, suppose a biid to have just arrived from off a journey, and alighting on the little platform, found the sliding-door shut, it would immediately shove against the door, which would swing open, permitting the bird's entrance, and at once shut again against the beading, and prevent its exit. In the same way, through the back bolting-wires, a pigeon could enter the area, but could not return to the loft in that way, not get out through the bolting-wires in front. Whpn a bird returns home from a journey, the exact time of its arrival may even, by a very simple contrivance attached to the external bolting-wires, be signaled to the owner. The breeding compartment bhould have around the walls neeting-boxes, we might call them, or divisions, four feet long, two and a half feet high, and about two feet wide ; these ought to be barred in front, with a doorway, to put tho pigeons through for breeding purposes, and two earthenware nest-pans in each, hidden from view behind an L-ahaped screen of wood. In the loft are pigeon-hoppers and drinking fountains, as well as a box containing a mixture of gravel, clay, and old mortar, with about one third of coarse salt, the whole wetted and made into a mass with brine. About twice a week a bath is greatly relished by the birds ; but care should be taken not to leave the floor of the loft damp. Old lime and gravel should be sprinkled about. The food of the homing pigeon is not different from that of any other pigeon, and consists chiefly of beans, email gray peas, and now and then, by way of change, a little wheat, tares, rice, or Indian corn. Soft food may sometimes be given also, such as boiled rice or potato mixed with oatmeal. The drinking water should be changed every day, and the fountain frequently well rinsed out. The greatest cleanliness should prevail in the loft. Everything should be clean and sweet and dry, and there should never be either dust or a bad smell. Green food may be given when the birds can not get out to supply themselves. It should be given fresh, and on no aooount left about the loft to decay. Never let the hoppers be empty, and see that the grains are not only good, but free from dust as well. Next as to getting into stook. There are two or three ways of doing this. It is sometimes possible to get the eggs, whioh may be placed under an ordinary pigeon. Good old birds may be got— a few pairs; but they must, of course, be kept strict prisoners, else they will fly away. The best plan, however, of getting into stock is that of purchasing young birds as soon as they are fit to leave the mother. These must be put in the loft, but not let out for a week or two, although they should be permitted to go into the area and look around them, to get familiar with the place. After some time they may be permitted to go out and fly around. If good, they will return ; if of a bad strain, they are as well lost. But training should not begin until the bird is fully three months old, and strong. The young birds are first " tossed " two or three hundred yards from their loft. If they have already become familiar with their home surroundings, they will speedily get baok to the cot. Toss them unfed, flinging them well up in an open speace ; and repeat this day after day for some time ; then gradually increase the distance, to a quarter of a mile, half a mile, and a mile, and so on to five, ten, up to fifty or a hundred miles of railway. The tossing should be done on a fine day — at all events, never on a foggy one. Birds may be sent to station-masters at different distances along the line to be tossed, the basket in which they have been carried being sent back as a returned empty, with the exaot time at which the birds were let out marked on the label by the station-master or porter. When this plan is adopted, it is of course necessary to write to the station-master first, and get his permission to send birds to him for the purpose of being tossed. We have purposely avoided saying anything about the points aad properties of homing

pigeons ; it is good wing you want more than ahape of head or face, although there ought always to be ft skull indicative of room for brains. It is wing you want, we repeit, strength, health, and ttrain. Why we put the last word in italic is this : we consider that it h essential to success, and cheapest in the lnnq run, to breed from a good working strain. The rule holds pood m tho breeding of all kinds of live-fleck. So the reader, if he intends to take up the homing-pigeon hobby, will do well to eeo that he gets birds of a good-working stock to begin with. A pigeon is not at its best till it is two years of age ; care should be taken, therefore, not to attempt too much with them tho firit year of training. When a bird returns, treat it to a handful of nice grain, or even hemp ; but during training give nothing that is too fattening in large quantities. Great care and attention are required all the year round ; exercise should never be neglected ; they should be permitted to get out frequently during tho day, or, indeed, to have their liberty all day, taking precautions against the tender attentions of vagrant cats. The moulting season is a somewhat oritical time, and so is the breeding-time ; but this class of pigeons is, on the whole, hardy. Treat your birds with universal kindness, and they will certainly reward you.