128 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



young ones for ten cents apiece and the 

 butcher took them off the nest for us. We 

 killed the three original pairs as we did 

 not want any in coops. I built a pigeon 

 house sixteen feet high and ten feet square 

 on the ground, two stories. The birds 

 come in at the top and nest where they 

 please. I took up a homestead seventy 

 miles north. On this my whole family 

 lived for most of the time. While we were 

 away from this place, the butcher came 

 regularly and took away the squabs and 

 left the money or his account with a 

 neighbor. We never kept any account of 

 the profit of these splendid birds except 

 last year, when the profit was $34.50, and 

 the feed would not amount to a dollar, as 

 they fly out and rustle their own feed. 

 My wife feeds them a little to make them 

 friendly. I have a large wagon shed and 

 they used to nest in this. I shot some of 

 them and they have never bothered me 

 there now for two years. They are wise 

 and I think thy can talk. As a compari- 

 son of profit between chickens and squabs, 

 we had a coop of chickens that required 

 constant care. After deducting $19 for 

 chicken feed, the profit on them was $33. 

 The chicken coop and corral is quite a 

 distance from the pigeon house and the 

 pigeons never feed with them." W. S. M., 

 California. 



NEVER LOST A BIRD BY SICKNESS. 

 "In June, 1902, I got twenty-four pairs of 

 you, paying sixty dollars for them. I have 

 never lost a bird by sickness. I killed one. 

 He was ailing and did not look well, so I 

 killed him. This was three or four months 

 after I got the birds. Right off after I 

 got them I raised twenty-five pairs, then I 

 began to kill squabs, as I had no room. I 

 sold the first lot of squabs in February, 

 1903, and got 25 cents apiece at first (this 

 was much too low), then I sold for 30 

 cents apiece until May, 1903. I should say 

 I sold in all 150 squabs up to May 1. From 

 that time on the marketman to whom I 

 was selling refused to give me more than 

 18 cents apiece, so I rigged up a new place 

 and put forty pairs in there, then I sold 

 a few more. Since then to now (November, 

 1903) have sold about 60 to -75 squabs. I 

 have sold only squabs, but the other day I 

 sold six pairs of breeders for two dollars 

 a pair. All the 24 original pairs I got of 

 you have keot working. I have three or 

 four pairs which have made a nest almost 

 every month since I have had them. They 

 had eleven nests, others four or five nests 

 a pair. I have eighty-eieht pairs of breed- 

 ers now. I have erot confluence now to go 

 ahead and am going to start a large plant 

 in the country and will buy some more 

 birds of you." H. C., Massachusetts. 



A YOUNG WOMAN'S SUCCESS. "A 

 year ago last July I received from you 

 one-half dozen pairs and paid you $15. I 

 have tried to take good care of them and 

 they have increased till now I have some 



one hundred young birds. I did not tiy to 

 sell any of them as I wanted to let the 

 flock grow. I took good care of the young 

 birds mating and so there are not any of 

 them that are related to each other now 

 that are breeding. I had built for them a 

 good warm house according to your direc- 

 tions and they have done very well. Some 

 few died during this winter, but I think 

 they were crowded and so the older one* 

 would push the little fellows out of the 

 nest and they froze during the night." 

 Miss E. M. C., Kansas. 



A GOOD HEALTHY FLOCK.-"! bought 

 24 pairs Extra of you a little over a year 

 ago. I now have besides the 24 pairs about 

 40 pairs of mated birds, all leg banded. 

 Also I have about one hundred young 

 birds and all but about thirty of these will 

 be old enough to mate by the first of April. 

 All of these are leg banded and are good 

 healthy birds in first-class condition." E 

 A. H., Iowa. 



GOING TO MAKE AN EXHIBIT. "My 

 birds that I received of you in July and 

 August are doing fine, and as there is a 

 poultry show here in this city next month. 

 I thought perhaps I would show a few of 

 them. Could you give me any pointers on 

 putting them on exhibition?" E. G., 

 Michigan. 



EXPERIENCE DEARLY BOUGHT. 

 "You may possibly think I am doing con- 

 siderable correspondence without doing 

 much trading, but I wish to get your ad- 

 vice in regard to a little matter. Last 

 April I purchased seventeen pigeons of a 

 friend of mine for $5.95. I knew nothing 

 except what your Manual taught me about 

 the business. I purchased in the fall of a 

 westerner what were supposed to be twenty 

 pairs of Al Homers, but they proved to 

 be a poor mess. The westerner also proved 

 to be a dead beat. The next man I tackled 

 was in your state, who shipped me twenty- 

 four pairs Homers for $36. Well, at pres- 

 ent I have fifty-three to fifty-five pairs cf 

 birds and about thirty-five to forty head of 

 young stock. Now I see where I am lame, 

 and where I made a big mistake in not 

 buying your best breeders, if I had only 

 purchased one-half the number. I wish to 

 get rid of what I have. I have a large 

 house and wish to fill it with the best 

 stock obtainable." M. D., New York. 



NEW JERSEY SEES WHAT REALLY 

 PLUMP SQUABS ARE. "The 400 pairs of 

 pigeons I got from you are hale and 

 hearty. By actual count I have ninety- 

 eight pairs of eggs and squabs, besides the 

 squabs ready to kill, which number is, 

 however, very small. Taking the lateness 

 of the season when I got the birds and the 

 extreme cold we have here, I think the 

 outlook all right. What do you say? 

 Everybody is stuck on the plumpness of 

 the squabs when dead and their bright and 

 fine appearance when alive." J. B., New 

 Jersey. 



