The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book 



and as varied selections as he chooses, but I would cau- 

 tion him not to commence with too many at once, and 

 in his purchases to.be also cautious whom he deals with. 



It may be that he is so fortunate as to live in a locality 

 where fanciers and breeders are numerous, as in the 

 neighborhood of our large cities and towns. If so, he 

 can readily learn whom he can place the most confidence 

 in, and go to them for what he wants. But if living 

 at a distance from any breeders he must then necessarily 

 depend upon the various poultry and pigeon papers and 

 magazines for information where to buy, and conse- 

 quently be, as it were, at the mercy of the dealer. Let 

 him, therefore, scan the advertisements closely, and en- 

 deavor to get some idea of the character of the adver- 

 tiser also, through the medium of the lists of prize- 

 winners usually published in these papers. The breed- 

 ers who figure as prize-winners are almost always men 

 of good character, and by opening a correspondence 

 with them, he can learn of their terms and somewhat 

 of the quality of the stock they have for sale. 



Let him be guarded about dealing with men of no 

 reputation, because their advertisement is well worded, 

 and the prices, if given, are low, and remember that a 

 low price sometimes, and often, means a poor quality of 

 birds. If his means are limited, he had better put it all 

 into the hands of a reliable man and obtain one, two, or 

 three good pairs, than to buy five times as many from 

 a man of no reputation because they are cheap. More 

 harm has been done to the fancy through such men than 

 can be. imagined by any one not acquainted with the 

 facts, and it is to warn the uninitiated against such pit- 

 falls that I mention it here. 



We are supposing that the young fancier wants to 

 begin with good, reliable stock, can afiford to pay a fair 



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