THE VARIOUS BREEDS 53 



der in flight and should be of good length. 

 This length is increased by pulling out the 

 feathers in the first year. This operation is 

 also thought to give strength to any young or 

 weak bird. 



As homing pigeons circle round several times 

 high in the air immediately after being re- 

 leased, in order to get their bearings, it is a 

 generally accepted theory that they return by 

 means of visual landmarks. This is proved by 

 the birds being useless in dense fog, such as 

 they frequently have in England. 



Trie homing pigeon is found in black, white, 

 red, silver, dun, and cream, but is more gener- 

 ally seen in soft blue with strongly marked 

 bars or checkers. 



THE RUNT 



The runt, a name given to it in sarcasm, is 

 the largest and most robust among pigeons. 

 The Roman runt, the oldest of known varie- 

 ties, next to the homer, had its origin near the 

 shores of the Mediterranean, where it had 

 long been classed as poultry. Its main point is 

 size, attaining a weight sometimes of nearly 

 three pounds and a wing spread of forty-two 

 inches from tip to tip. The runt colors are 



