DOMESTIC PIGEONS 97 



length, or the flying of a bird against time. Time, 

 in other words, speed, is ever a matter of the 

 greatest pride to the owner and invariably re- 

 ceives the highest commendation from the judges, 

 not only because the fastest bird wins, but because 

 its speed may set a new record. The pigeon flier 

 is like the owner of race-horses. Many a horse 

 can win a mile race, but there are few that can 

 cover the distance in less than a minute and forty 

 seconds. Therefore, the man who produces a 1 : 38 

 horse has something to be proud of besides win- 

 ning a pocketful of prize-money. The race-horse 

 runs its races around an oval track. The properly 

 trained homing pigeon, on the other hand, flies in 

 an almost straight line from the point of liberation 

 to its loft, be it fifty, one hundred, or five hundred 

 miles distant. 



As has been said, the sport took its beginning 

 in Belgium. The year of the first organized race 

 was 1818, and the length of the course one hundred 

 miles. This distance was gradually increased un- 

 til in 1875, when the sport was first introduced 

 into the United States, races of five hundred miles 

 were common in Europe. 



In the days before railroads it was a difficult 

 matter to ship birds a long distance from their 

 lofts owing to poor facilities for travel, but with 

 the coming of railway-trains this hardship was 

 obviated and longer races became possible. The 

 United States took advantage of the railroads, 



