244 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



notice, having been made use of in very early 

 times, as the means of conveying intelligence. 

 The historian Diodorus Siculus above two thou- 

 sand years ago speaks of them as being employed 

 for this purpose. And about five hundred years 

 since relays of carrier-pigeons formed part of a 

 telegraph system adopted by the Turks. 



Many examples of power and speed in these 

 birds, and of the certainty with which they return 

 from incredible distances to the place where they 

 were bred, are on record. These wonderful powers 

 have been made use of both in war and commerce, 

 and the most extraordinary instance we know of 

 is that of a carrier-pigeon despatched by Captain 

 Sir John Eoss from his winter quarters in 1850, 

 which actually reached its home near Ayr, in 

 Scotland, in five days. Sir John took with him 

 four of these pigeons belonging to a lady residing 

 in Ayrshire, intending to liberate two of them 

 when he should go into winter quarters and the 

 other two when he should have discovered Sir J. 

 Franklin. A pigeon made its appearance at the 

 dovecote in Ayrshire, on the 13th October, which 

 the lady recognised by marks that left no doubt 

 on her mind of its identity. It bore no billet, but 

 there were indications of one having been torn 

 from under the wing. 



Lieutenant Osborne, in his " Stray Leaves from 



