Utility and Economy of Birds 



many as a thousand birds being sometimes 

 employed in a single engagement, their value 

 was not always properly estimated. There 

 Is a story that, when pressed hard to find a 

 dinner for his master, a faithful " batman " 

 served up what he simply described as " a 

 brace of birds." They proved excellent eat- 

 ing, but a subsequent enquiry from Head- 

 quarters as to the loss of two valuable 

 HOMING PIGEONS led to investigations. The 

 "batman" eventually revealed the origin of 

 the dainty dish to his master, and after being 

 warned that, if found out, it would certainly 

 mean a court-martial, was asked if he had left 

 any evidence, such as the basket; to which 

 he replied, "Couldn't cook 'em without mak- 

 ing a fire, sir" (Daily Mail, s.ii.ig). The 

 men to whom the CARRIER PIGEONS were 

 consigned occasionally became bored by 

 their precious charges. One day a practice 

 " PIGEON message " was received from a 

 somewhat "fed-up" Australian battalion 

 rather weary of sending practice PIGEON mes- 

 sages during many weeks. The latest mes- 

 sage when decoded read thus: " In view of 



