The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



available by the fancier. It may be a box nailed against 

 the gable end of the house or barn ; it may be a limited 

 space in the peak of the same ; it may be a larger room 

 in that house or barn, or it may be a commodious build- 

 ing erected for the purpose in the rear of the home lot. 

 Wherever your fancy dictates or your means will allow, 

 there can your pigeons find a home. They are not fas- 

 tidious, no pride governs their choice, and they build, 

 breed, and raise their little families as happily and con- 

 tentedly in a rough box as in the most conveniently and 

 comfortably arranged aviary. So if you can do no 

 better and must have a few pigeons, take a box about 

 lo inches deep, divide it into as many apartments lo 

 inches square as size of your box will allow, then cut 

 holes in the bottom of the box to correspond with each 

 of the apartments you have made, say 4 inches wide 

 and 5 inches high, nail an alighting-board 4 inches wide 

 and 6 inches long to the floor of each apartment, letting 

 as much as possible of the board project through the 

 holes you have cut, after giving it a secure attachment 

 to the floor of its apartment. When all this is done, you 

 can fasten it to the side of any building, or fence even, 

 if high enough from the ground to be out of the reach 

 of cats and dogs. By placing the open side of the box . 

 to the building, it answers in place of back and saves 

 adding weight to it by nailing on a back. 



As far as possible place it in a position facing the 

 south, and protected from the cold northerly winds. 

 Also make it water-tight, if you can, by covering with 

 some water-proof material. This will make a very 

 primitive pigeon-house, but I have known many a boy 

 made happy over a no more elegant house, and the pig- 

 eons are just as happy here as in a palace. The house 

 can be placed high enough to be reached by a short lad- 



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