CHAPTER XV. 

 PIGEONS FOR MARKET. 



A bird in the loft is worth two in the pot-hunter^ 's bag. 

 In a neighborhood where pigeons fly both peas and peace 

 take wing. Tim. 



JIT The old practice of fastening nest- 



^^B boxes on the outside of building and 



jjjjP&g allowing the occupants to range at will is 



^ -44MMP not to be commended- However made 



they present an unsightly appearance, and pigeons at 



liberty in a community are an intolerable nuisance. 



It is better in every way to have a separate build- 

 ing for pigeons, and to have an outside fly of wire 

 netting connected with it and thus to keep the birds 

 confined at all seasons. This plan is especially recom- 

 mended when any considerable number is kept. 



The accompanying 

 illustration shows a loft with 

 the breeding-room eight by 

 sixteen feet and a cage or 

 fly sixteen by sixteen feet 

 that will accommodate twenty to forty pairs. In 

 building it posts are set firmly in the ground, pans 

 inverted over them to keep out rats and mice and 

 the sills nailed to the posts. 



For larger numbers the house shown on the next 

 page illustrates a cheap and practical building. It is 



