152 THE PIGEON BOOK 



pigeon with the wind in its favour, and the second trial 

 with the wind against them. Then I know which pigeon 

 to send on the day of the race, according to how the wind 

 is. As a rule, I used to put on about six pigeons, and toss 

 them five minutes apart, so as not to let them get together, 

 but after they were full in work I used to have them up 

 three minutes apart. That gave me time when clocking 

 in to get each bird in as it came, and to book its time 

 before looking for the next one, and when my birds had 

 had a little work I could make a bet that I got each one 

 into the aviary in less than thirty seconds after it was 

 down; but that time of day we used to call time when 

 the pigeon alighted on the house, and examined the race- 

 mark afterwards. 



The day before the race I gave my two pigeons that I 

 selected out of the six that I had on the job the baker's 

 dozen tick-beans (thirteen), and on the morning of the 

 race I used to show them the bean-can and rattle it at 

 them, and they would go to rush at it ; but I had some 

 hemp seed in the other hand, and just gave them a little 

 bit of that, as it reminded them that there was some food 

 for them when they got home. They all made for the 

 aviary as soon as they pitched, in fact I have had pigeons 

 double themselves up in the air, and skim right into the 

 aviary. One old blue cock that I used to fly in short 

 distance races never pitched on the floor, but came right 

 on to the bean-can as soon as I rattled it as he was coming 

 in, and after I called time I would let him have some 

 beans and then pick him up with the other hand to see 

 what race-mark they had put on him. He won several 

 races, and he was a pigeon you could send anywhere, 

 north, south, east, or west, thirty or forty miles off the 

 house, and you would always find him there in the day 

 or first thing in the morning, no matter what weather, and 



