PIGEONS. 6(57 



feather showing as near the three colors as possible. Kites should show a fiery glow 

 throughout, and when held to the light with wings exposed, it presents a very deep mahogany 

 shade of color, the deeper the better. Mottles should have rose or .white mottling only on 

 wings and not over the entire covert, a slight ticking of white through neck and head; tail 

 some color other than white, the flight also same as body color. Agates run lighter in both 

 flights and tail. Many are sometimes surprised in the change of a young Agate, expecting 

 it to be a fine whole feather, but after the first moult it has entirely changed. The breeding 

 of the Short-faced Tumblers is a sort of lottery, as no man can tell what such a bird will 

 breed, neither can he say with certainty what color the young will really be until after it has 

 moulted its nest feathers. 



To be successful in rearing young birds, a supply of nurses or feeders must first be had, 

 say two pair or more to each of Short-face, so that some will be nesting the same time as 

 your Tumblers, to give you an opportunity to shift either eggs or young, and supply the 

 Short-face with the feeders young, as it does not matter if they would not feed them over 

 a week (as is generally the case), and by letting them do this you save your valuable birds. 

 The best nurses for a Short-face are good Plain-face Balds; some use Turbits and do well with 

 them, but as long as I can get the Bald-head I can ask for nothing that suits my wants better. 

 I have tried other varieties and know from past experience.&quot; 



Carriers. There are four well known varieties of the carrier pigeon, black, blue, dun, 

 and white, although we occasionally see the red, and some others less common. These birds 

 have a form suited to rapid and extended flight, some of them performing almost incredible 

 feats in aerial journeys. The body is long, with flights and tail long in comparison with the 

 size of the bird, the shoulders wide, standing well out and on a horizontal line with the front 

 of the breast; the thighs long, and strong, and muscular. This bird has two peculiar 

 characteristics which give it a very singular appearance, viz., an immense beak, wattle, and a 

 wide wattle around the eye. These fancy points frequently in aged birds make them 

 unsightly objects. Before the days of steam navigation, railroad and telegraphic communi- 

 cation, the carrier pigeon was an important agent in the rapid delivery of important 

 messages, its love of home and attachment to its mate and offspring having imparted the 

 capability of training these birds for this purpose. On long distances, the birds are selected, 

 if possible, that have young ones in their nests. The average rate of speed in these birds is 

 about thirty miles an hour, although better records are frequently given, that of the noted 

 and champion bird &quot; Columbia &quot; having been two hundred and thirty-seven miles in four 

 hours and fifty-eight minutes. He also flew from Columbus, Ohio, to Hudson City, New 

 Jersey, a distance of four hundred and seventy miles, air line, leaving Columbus at fifteen 

 minutes past five o clock in the morning, and reaching his home at eight o clock on the fol 

 lowing morning. Making due allowance for resting (since he could not fly during the night), 

 this achievement makes Columbus the champion of the United States, having flown the longest 

 distance in the shortest time. Although somewhat weary from his long flight, the first thing 

 Columbus did on reaching his coop on that morning, was to seek his mate and caress her. 

 Then he went for food, water, and the bath tub. 



Barbs. The Barb pigeon is supposed to have derived its name from an abbreviation 

 of Barbary pigeon, since it was first introduced from that country. Its original color was 

 either black or dun, although there were birds of both these colors. They are now found 

 black, white, red, yellow, and blue. The head markings are the most distinctive features of 

 this bird. The head should be large, broad across the top, the eye pearl, surrounded by a 

 circular eye-wattle of a coral red color; beak short. The form of the bird should be a short 

 neck widening towards the shoulders; breast broad; body plump; legs short. These birds 



