CHAP, XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 299 



when there, it can be instinct alone which 

 makes them turn to the point of their dwell- 

 ing, and their education we imagine to be only 

 of use in ascertaining those birds which are 

 the most active and discriminating. 



The manner in which the pigeon is em- 

 ployed, is to carry it to the spot from which 

 information is to be sent to that where it was 

 bred — being all the time kept in the dark, 

 and sparingly fed for several hours previous 

 to its being dispatched. The news to be 

 forwarded is inscribed upon a slip of parch- 

 ment, fastened round the neck, or under a 

 wing ; and the bird, when let loose, makes 

 a spiral flight of observation to a consi- 

 derable height, after which it darts off in 

 the direction of its home, which it generally 

 reaches with incredible swiftness. Numerous 

 instances have been recorded of their tra- 

 velling hundreds of miles at the rate of 

 ninety miles an hour. Among which a flight, 

 consisting of three hundred birds, was des- 

 patched, on the 12th of July, 1842, from 

 Birmingham, to decide a bet among parties 

 at Antwerp, where they all arrived in safety, 

 the first bird having reached its destination 



