BY WILLIAM G. BARTON. 



77 



been used as carriers ; but the birds used for this purpose 

 are prized solely for their flying, are generally the product 

 of several judicious crosses, and so are of every variety 

 of color. They must be muscular, close-feathered, with 

 broad overlapping flight-feathers. Probably ninety-nine 

 one-huudredths of the pigeons flown as carriers look much 

 like common pigeons, being somewhat larger and stronger, 

 stouter in build and beak, and having a sharp, intelligent 

 look. When a pigeon, destined to be a homer, is two or 

 three months old, he is taken a half mile or a mile away from 

 his home and allowed to fly back. Then he is taken two 

 miles, then say four, eight, sixteen and, perhaps, by this 

 time ten, twenty, or thirty miles farther at each stage. 

 Many birds are lost while being trained, thus carrying out 

 the principle of the survival of the fittest. 



A most remarkable opportunity for the use of carrier 

 pigeons was afforded by the siege of Paris. Pigeons whose 

 home was in that unfortunate city were sent out in balloons 

 and subsequently loosed to make their way back as bearers 

 of valuable official and private despatches. By paying a 

 high rate of postage any person could send a message to a 

 friend in Paris limited to a certain number of words. A 

 very large number of despatches were set up in type, 

 making a page as large as that of a newspaper. This was 

 reproduced on a much reduced scale by photography upon 

 asmall piece of paper. One such piece, which was probably 

 a fair sample, measured one and one-fourth inches by two 

 and one-fourth, and contained two hundred and twenty-six 

 despatches, the postage on which aggregated 100. This 

 scrap of paper was placed within a bit of quill, which was 

 securely attached to the shaft of one of the tail feathers 

 of the appointed messenger. If the brave little pigeon 

 safely ran the gauntlet of hawks, storms, fog, and German 



