the best plan of inducing them to settle in a 

 new abode, is to clip one wing, which prevents 

 their flying;' and keep them in a cot near the 

 gi-ound, till they get accustomed to the place. 



Many persons keep their pigeons in the space 

 between the garret and roof of their dwelling 

 house, with holes at which they go out and in ; 

 and this arrangement answers very well, for the 

 animal's lodging must be dry and comlbrtable. 

 A more regular plan is to furnish them with a 

 properly-constructed dove-cot, aloof from any 

 building. The cot should consist of a substan- 

 tial wooden box, with a sloping roof, and divi- 

 ded interiorly by partitions into as many cells 

 as pairs are to be kept, for each pair requires a 

 distinct cell. Each cell should be twelve inch- 

 es deep from front to back, and sixteen inches 

 broad ; the entrance liole should not be oppo- 

 site the centre of the cell, but at a side, so that 

 the pigeons may build their nest a little out of 

 sight. In front of each cell there should be a 

 slip of wood to I'est and coo upon ; but as dif- 

 ferent pairs incessantly quarrel about the right 

 of walking on these slips, and are apt to fight 

 for the po.ssession of cells, it is best to separate 

 the slips with upright partitions ; and it would 

 be an improvement to have two or three small 

 cots in.stead of one large one. The cot, of what- 

 ever size or form, should be elevated on a wall 

 facing the south-east, or otherwise placed at 

 such a hight as will be out of the reach of cats 

 and other vermin. The cot should be painted 

 white, as tiie pigeon is attracted by Biat color. 

 Gravel should be strewed on the ground in 

 front of the dove-cot, the birds being fond of 

 picking it ; and a little straw or hay isnecessaiy 

 for the nests. Cleanliness is indispensable to 

 the health of the birds, and a scouring out of the 

 cot should therefore take place regularly. The 

 quantity of dung produced in the nests is very 

 great, and its removal to the compost heap will 

 amply repay the trouble of cleaning. 



In commencing to keep pigeons, a pair or two 

 should be procured which have not flown, and 

 they should be shut up for a time, and well fed. 

 Their chief food is grain, and the kind which 

 they prefer to all others is dried tares. Small 

 horse-beans are another favorite article of diet, 

 and very nutritious to them. Wheat, barley, 

 oats, and peas, with rape, hemp, and canary 

 seeds, are also prized by them, but should not 

 be made constant articles of food under any cir- 

 cumstances. 



The house-dove or common pigeon, as is well 

 known, begins to breed about the age of nine 

 months, and breeds every month. During 

 breeding time, they associate in pains, and pay 

 court to each other with their bills ; the female 

 lays two eggs, and the young ones that are pro- 

 duced are for the mo.st part a male and female. 

 When the eggs are laid, the female, in the .space 

 of fifteen days, not including the three days du- 

 ring which she is employed in laying, continues 

 to hatch, relieved at intervals by the male. — 

 From three or four o'clock in the evening, till 

 nine the next day, the female continues to sit ; 

 she is then relieved by the male, who lakes his 

 place from ten till three, vs'hile his mate is feed- 

 ing abroad. In tliis manner they sit alternately 

 till the young come out. Kept with ordinary care 

 a pair will give to the breeder nine pairs or so in 

 a year, and will continue to do this for four years. 



With regard to the best breeds of the common 

 domesticated pigeon, it is diificult to give any 

 useful instructions. They have been cultivated 

 to a great extent, and many distinct varieties 

 (571) 



have been formed, but the differences rest chief- 

 ly in colors, and the special value of each lies in 

 the taste of the/a»r/er. The leading varieties 

 of fancy pigeons are known by the names 

 of the English Pouter, the Dutch Cropper, the 

 Horseman, the Unloper, the Dragoon, the Tum- 

 bler, the Leghorn and Spanish Runt, the Trump- 

 eter, the Nun, the Fan-tail, and the Capuchin. 

 The peculiarities of some of these breeds are 

 very odd. The tumbler, for instance, derives its 

 name from a practice of tumbling in the air 

 while on the wing. Instead of pursuing a 

 steady straightforward flight, it turns over, or 

 casts somensets backward, whirling round heels 

 over head as expertly as a fir.st-rate rope-dancer 

 does when he makes the back spring. The fan- 

 tail derives its name from the circumstance of 

 its having a remarkably broad tail, which it has 

 the power of spreading out like the tail of a tur- 

 key-cock. The prime quality of the bird con 

 sists in its ability to make its tail touch its head, 

 and surround it with a wide glory of feathers, 

 If it cannot do this, it is valueless to the fancier, 

 no matter how excellent are its other properties- 

 Amusing as this absurdity is, it is not so laugh- 

 able as the qualities which recommend the En- 

 glish pouter to public favor. This bird, which is 

 acro.ss between a Horseman and Cropper, pos- 

 sesses the remarkable ])roperty of blowing out 

 its breast or crop to such an extent that it rises 

 to a level with its beak, and tlie bird appears to 

 look over the top of an inflated bladder. 



Carrier Pigeons. — Pigeons have been put to 

 the remarkable purpose of acting as carriers for 

 letters or other light objects. A particular spe- 

 cies, larger than common, is trained for the pur- 

 pose, and in some countries the rearing of them 

 forms a lucrative employment. The instinct 

 w^hich has rendered the carrier-pigeon so ser- 

 viceable, is the strong desire manifested by all 

 pigeons to return to the place of its ordinary 

 residence ; and man has adopted various pre- 

 cautionai-y measures in order to makes its return 

 on particular occasions more certain. A male 

 and female are usually kept together and treat- 

 ed well ; and one of these, when taken else- 

 v^'here, is supposed to have the greater induce- 

 ment to come back. It is even considered ne- 

 cessary by some that the bird should have left 

 eggs in the process of incubation, or unfledged 

 young ones, at home, in order to make tiie re- 

 turn certain ; but probably these are superfluous 

 precautions. It is obvious that the can-ier-pigeon 

 can onlj' be put to use in conformity with some 

 contemplated plan, for which the proper prepa- 

 rations have been made. It must have been 

 taken from a place to which it is wished that it 

 .should return, and it must, at the moment when 

 its services are wanted, be temporarilj' at the 

 place from which the intelligence is to be con- 

 veyed. It is usually taken to that place hood- 

 winked, or in a covered basket ; the instinct 

 by which it finds its way back upon its own 

 wings, must of course be independent of all 

 knowledge of the intennediatc localities. When 

 the moment for employing it has arrived, the in- 

 dividual requiring its services ^^'ritcs a small 

 billet upon thin paper, which is placed length- 

 wise under the wing, and fastened by a pin to 

 one of the feathers, \yith some precautions to 

 prevent the pin from pricking, and the paper 

 from filling with air. On being released, the 

 carrier ascends to a great hight, takes one or two 

 turns in the air, and then commences its forward 

 career, at the rate of forty miles in the hour, or 

 about a thousand a day. 



