36 STRA Y FEA THERS FROM MANY BIRDS. 



Pigeons, often miscalled " Carriers," such as the Dragon, 

 the Tumbler, and the Antwerp, are of important service 

 to man, and are commercially of considerable value. 

 The chief peculiarities of these birds are their great 

 powers of flight, combined with a strong attachment to 

 home. Some of these highly bred Homing Pigeons are 

 capable of very strong powers of flight, and great endur- 

 ance. They have been known to fly for twelve hours at 

 the rate of nearly fifty miles per hour. In Belgium, the 

 breeding and training of Homing Pigeons has become a 

 fine art, upwards of one hundred and fifty societies, 

 containing over ten thousand members, being established 

 for the advancement of the pursuit. These societies 

 hold periodical shows, and offer many handsome prizes 

 for the best birds. Some of these prize-winning Homing 

 Pigeons have realised as much as 20. The uses to 

 which Homing Pigeons have been applied have consider- 

 ably increased of late years. The gentle Dove has been 

 made a messenger of war ; and numerous experiments 

 have been made to determine its fitness for carrying 

 messages rapidly from one district to another, where the 

 telegraph or railway is unavailable. As messengers 

 from balloons and besieged cities they are extremely 

 useful ; and there can be little doubt that in the war- 

 fare of the future, the Homing Pigeon will play an 

 important part. We believe that both the French and 

 German military authorities have been experimenting 



