154 THE PIGEON BOOK 



Skinnum, and I may tell you that when I lived in Bethnal 

 Green, some fifty years ago, there was hardly a back- 

 yard that did not contain a pigeon loft built upon four 

 poles, and with these crosses — ^the Skinnum and the Ant- 

 werp — we got some very nice pigeons. 



Our first race used to be from about Bow Church into 

 Bethnal Green; we then went on to Stratford; but our 

 most favourite place for flying from afterwards was a 

 place called Irish Row, on the Ilford road — a little row 

 of houses that stood there then. I cannot tell you the 

 actual distance, but I think it was something like a five- 

 mile fly from Irish Row, and we use3 to do it in 

 6min. 20sec., or 6min. 25sec. or 6min. 30sec. when we 

 had the cross of the Antwerp and the Skinnum. 



Flying Tipplers. 



I have included the Flying Tippler under sporting 

 pigeons, because I think really that flying these birds in 

 matches and competitions amounts to sport. In my early 

 days nothing delighted me more than to keep a kit of 

 Tipplers, which were, I think, almost as good as any flown 

 in London, and fanciers from Bethnal Green and Club 

 Row frequently came to watch my birds fly, as they would 

 keep going practically all days on those days when I put 

 them on the wing, which was generally on a Sunday, for 

 I did not think there was any desecration of the Sabbath 

 in merely opening a pigeon loft and letting the birds 

 fly round their homes. Flying Tipplers, real good per- 

 formers, are birds of pedigree. That is to say, if you 

 wish to get workers that will keep going for any length 

 of time you must have descendants of known good per- 

 forming strains. Sheffield is the hot-bed of the sport, 

 and I believe I am right in saying that fourteen hours 

 has been flown with young birds, and over seventeen hours 



