54 



AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURE 



lor that purpose, by first taking them a short distance from their 

 place of birth and liberating them, then a greater distance and 

 greater distance nntil they will be able to return home from a 

 distance of several hundred miles. Homer squabs are desired 

 where squabs are served in cafes, clubs, hotels, etc., as a part 

 of a regular meal, but the person who orders a squab as a 

 principal part of his meal prefers a larger bird, and the same 

 is true with private trade. As there is also a ready market for 

 large squabs, and as squabs range in price according to the 

 number of pounds they weigh per dozen, the natural desire of 

 squab breeders is to produce a large bird. The effort has con- 



BLUE BARRED HOMERS 



sequently been to try to develop a breed that would produce as 

 many squabs as the Homer, and at the same time a larger and 

 more valuable squab. 



Homers are very thrifty, hearty good feeders, and make 

 splendid mothers. On account of this quality they are often kept 

 and used as fester parents for the purpose of hatching and rais- 

 ing the young of other breeds. The Homer seems to have a 

 wild-like instinct, and is quick to fly off its nest and slow to 

 return to it, hence the successful breeder of Homers must bear 

 this peculiarity in mind and manage his pens of Homers in a 

 way not to disturb them, and in a way to make them as tame 



