MICROGRAPHY AND MICROPHOTOGRAPHY 147 



.less to say, that the ordinary pictures of doves with letters 

 tied round their necks or love-notes attached to their 

 wings, are all mere romance. A bird loaded in that way 

 would soon fall a prey to its enemies. As it was, some of 

 the pigeons were shot by German gunners or captured by 

 hawks trained by the Germans for the purpose, but the 

 great majority got safely through. 



Written communications, however, were of necessity, 

 bulky and heavy, and therefore M. Dagron, a Parisian 

 photographer, suggested that the news be printed in large 

 sheets of which microphotographs could be made and trans- 

 ferred to collodion positives which might then be stripped 

 from the glass and would be very light. This was done; 

 the collodion pellicles measuring about ten centimeters 

 (four inches) square and containing about three thousand 

 average messages. Eighteen of these pellicles weighed 

 less than one gramme (fifteen grains) and were easily 

 carried by a single pigeon. The pigeons having been bred 

 in Paris and sent out by balloons, always returned to their 

 dove-cotes in that city. 



M. Dagron left Paris by balloon on November 12, and 

 after a most adventurous voyage, being nearly captured by 

 a German patrol, he reached Tours and there established 

 his headquarters, and organized a regular system of com- 

 munication with the capitol. The results were most satis- 

 factory, upwards of two and a half millions of messages 

 having been sent into the city. Even postal orders, and 

 drafts were transmitted in this way and duly honored. 



And thus through the pigeon-post, aided by micropho- 

 tography, Paris was enabled to keep in touch with the 

 outer world, and the anxiety of thousands of families was 

 relieved. 



