The Dove Not a Peace Bird 



Doves, according to popular tradition, are the last things in the world to 

 •connect with war. Doves and pigeons are, or were, pacifists of the most viru- 

 lent type. Another cherished yarn has to go by the wall, for an authority says 

 that "five minutes in a pigeon-cote . . . will result in a lifetime of wonder- 

 ing why the idealized bird was chosen as an emblem of peace, for this stout- 

 hearted little bird, once called the "dove of peace," is now known and cherished 

 as "the war-pigeon." 



There "being nothing new under the sun," one is not surprised to find that 

 the ancient Egyptians and Persians used pigeons, just as to-day, as messengers 

 in war-time. Then from the Orient to Holland and Belgium and Merrie England 

 came the birds, the ancestors of the pigeons that have played so important a 

 part in driving the Huns to their lairs. 



It brings the subject close home to us when we remember that in the Pigeon 

 Division of the Signal Corps Louis Wahl and William Smead, of the New York 

 "Zoo," are in charge and that Corp. Donald Carter, once in the Gardens, is in 

 active service in France, among "the doves." 



Mr. Lee S. Crandall, in The Zoological Society Bulletin (New York), has 

 interesting things to say about the birds. After speaking of Smerles, "Owls," 

 Dragoons, Horsemen, Skinnums, Cumulets, etc., he proceeds: 



From this seeming chaos, after many vicissitudes, the racing homer, un- 

 equaled in speed, endurance, and intelligence, finally was evolved. These three 

 characters have remained the great objectives of the breeder, and color mark- 

 ings, and other points commonly sought among dometsic pigeons have been 

 ignored. Many derivatives, bred for exhibition points only, have risen to popu- 

 larity, but the racer, not always uniform in type and color, though never failing 

 in courage and love of home, still remains the pigeon of pigeons. 



Having proved its value as a flier in Belgium, the newly evolved breed was 

 quickly imported into England, and later was brought to America. The sport 

 of pigeon-racing soon became popularized, and its devotees now number thou- 

 sands. In America hundreds of races are flown yearly, under the auspices of 

 local clubs and the larger national organizations with which they are affiliated. 

 With the overrunning of Belgium by the German hordes of pickers and stealers, 

 the great majority of the famous studs of racing pigeons were seized and sent 

 to Germany. However, the blood of these great strains is widely spread and 

 strongly cherished in England and in America, so that they will not become 

 lost to civilization. 



Through a confusion of names, which has become wide-spread, the homing 

 pigeon is almost invariably referred to in news reports as the "carrier." He is 

 a carrier so far as service performed is concerned, but, unfortunately, that name 

 was long ago preempted by an entirely different bird, closely related to the 

 Dragoon and Horseman, and known as the English Carrier. This pigeon, while 



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