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FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by Joseph M. 

 Wade, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



JF ANCIERS' Jj OURNAL AND M OULTRY (j^XCHANGE, 

 JOSEPH M. WADE, Editor and Proprietor. 



Published Weekly at 39 North Ninth Street, Philadelphia. 



SUBSCRIPTION. 



Per Annum $2 50 



Six Copies, one year, 12 00 



Specimen Copies, by mail, ; 10 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



From reliable parties, on any subjects interesting to Fanciers, will be 

 inserted at 10 cents per line, set solid ; if displayed, 15 cents per line of 

 apace will be charged; about 12 words make a line, and 12 lines make an 

 inch of space. 



1 inch of space, set solid 31 20, displayed 81 80 



1 column, about 108 lines, set solid 10 80, " 16 20 



1 page, 216 lines, solid 21 60, " 32 40 



Advertisements from unknown parties must be paid for in advance. 



Sheeman & Co., Printers, Philadelphia. 



THE PIGEON POST OF THE PARIS PRESS. 



To us in America, with our regular press dispatches occu- 

 pying special wires of their own, and so voluminous in 

 amount that the main difficulty is the one of condensation, 

 and with our special telegraphic correspondents sending news 

 nightly from the chief cities, and finally with a system of de- 

 livery which brings these dispatches speedily to the news- 

 paper offices, the antique and clumsy device of a postal ser- 

 vice by carrier pigeons seems rather amusing. Tet to this 

 form of transmission of a part of their mails and correspond- 

 ence, the Paris newspapers have been forced to come, sup- 

 plying thereby the deficiencies of their telegraphic service. 

 What is more, the Paris newspapers have so perfected this 

 aerial mail service, that its results are surprising, and lead 

 us to reflect whether we have so much reason for smiling at 

 it after all. 



The chief postal pigeon line is established between Ver- 

 sailles, where the assembly sits, and the faubourg Mont- 

 matre in Paris. The Temps, reviewing the history of the 

 subject, remarks that the pigeon post office proper is a recent 

 invention. It has only been regularly organized since the 

 beginning of this century, but the siege of Paris fully de- 

 monstrated the important part that could be played by these 

 precious little aerial carriers. Paris, however, was not the 

 first city to make use of them even during an investment, 

 for as early as 1849, during the siege of their city, the Vene- 

 tians had employed pigeons to carry dispatches beyond the 

 enemy's lines. 



It is by cross-breeding and by education, continues the 

 Temps, that bird fanciers have been enabled to produce pig- 

 eons whose flight is of wonderful rapidity. One celebrated 

 pigeon, the Gladiator, travelled from Toulouse to Brussels 

 in a single day. It is calculated that, on an average, a well- 

 trained pigeon flies at the rate of 3280 feet a minute, that 

 is to say, almost forty miles an hour, and even this rapid 

 flight is often surpassed by the fastest birds. It is true that 

 atmospheric circumstances must always be taken into ac- 



count. The wind, the rain, and the snow are obstacles 

 against which the force of these little aerial messengers often 

 becomes exhausted. The most prized breeds are those of 

 Liege, which are small, with bright eyes, and a short bill ; 

 the Irish, which are short and stumpy, and very strong, and 

 the pigeons of Antwerp, standing high on their legs, with a 

 big bill and a long neck. A cross-breeding of these three 

 species is said to give the best results regarding memory, 

 strength, and sight. 



On the same subject the Liberie remarks that the pigeon 

 post service carried on between Versailles and Paris is so 

 extensive that from thirty to forty pigeons are often sent 

 out in a single day, especially if the weather is clear, and 

 political events are sufficiently exciting. The starlings take 

 place as fast as required, demands for these messengers being 

 principally made from two and a half to three o'clock, and 

 especially at the moment when the gun fires for the closing up 

 of the governmental offices; for each paper must, of course 

 take care to get its dispatches in season, lest some enterpris- 

 ing rival should profit by the delay. Accordingly, the oper- 

 ator, who launches the pigeons, places himself on the thresh- 

 old d of a little tavern opposite the Cour jdu Maroc, so that 

 the reporters have only to cross the street and hand in their 

 rapidly written news. The starter, who is a tall, broad- 

 shouldered man, vigorously throws the birds into the air, 

 one after the other, generally, to avoid delays, holding one 

 bird ready in each hand. The pigeons, taking up the initial 

 velocity they have thus received, fly rapidly in the direction 

 of Paris. A considerable crowd, among which members of 

 the Assembly do not disdain to appear, witnesses this spec- 

 tacle, which is said to be by no means one of the least attrac- 

 tive that life in Versailles offers. As the bird guides him- 

 self by sight, the sky must be sufficiently clear, especially 

 towards sunset, for the pigeons of the Paris press to see their 

 way. The trying season is, therefore, the present one of 

 short days and early dusk ; and the little political couriers 

 have to pierce through those fogs which are so heavy in late 

 autumn and winter. It is added in this account that one 

 thing is still wanting in this queer news service, namely, 

 pigeons that fly by night. To our own morning newspaper 

 press, this would be a pretty serious defect in the system. 



SECOND GRAND NATIONAL DOG SHOW. 



The second of Col. Wood's excellent exhibitions, em- 

 bracing a large and varied assortment of canines, will be held 

 at his popular museum, commencing Monday, March 16th, 

 to continue one week. The great success attending the first 

 grand display of these useful and valuable animals (Novem- 

 ber, 1872), induced Col. Wood to repeat the dog fair, which 

 will far excel in quantity and variety the first exhibition. 

 Dogs of every nation have already been promised upon this 

 occasion, and the enterprising proprietor of the museum 

 would not inappropriately term his great display, " The 

 World's Dog Show." But we are informed that the ani- 

 mals arriving from other nations will be on exhibition only, 

 whilst the dogs of our own country will be entered and 

 classed for premiums, Col. Wood desiring to encourage the 

 thorough breeding of good and useful animals. The pre- 

 miums awarded to successful competitors will be elaborate, 

 costl}', and beautiful. Catalogues containing full descrip- 

 tions of all varieties of the species Canis familiaris, and rules 

 governing the exhibition, can be had by addressing Col. 

 Wood's Museum, this city. (See Advertisement.) 



