THE PIGEON BOOK 155 



ten minutes with old birds, by a kit owned by J. Hull, 

 of Stockport. The time of the actual flight counts from 

 the moment that a fancier puts his dropper on the loft 

 to endeavour to drop his birds. Success with these birds 

 depends firstly, as I have before stated, on strain; 

 secondly, on having a suitable loft to house them; and, 

 thirdly, on their breeding, training, and management. 



The method that I always adopted with my birds was 

 to work backwards; that is to say, start flying an hour 

 before sunset, and drop them at dusk every night, but 

 it is very necessary to teach the birds to know the top 

 of their loft, and to drop and come into the loft when 

 practically dark, for the reason that if they were not 

 taught to pitch in the dusk the shadows underneath that 

 they see when trying to pitch act on their nervous system 

 and they are likely to take fright and fly all night. 

 Therefore, one of the first things Tipplers must be 

 taught is to know the roof of their own loft when it is 

 quite dusk, and pitch on it as soon as the droppers are 

 put out. 



In order to teach them this they must be kept hungry 

 and fed with a little corn on the roof of the loft. After 

 this they must be got into the loft by havbg one or two 

 hungry birds feeding insiBe by the light of a lamp. When 

 once they have been thoroughly taught the lesson of 

 getting about and dropping regularly, practically in the 

 dusk, then a fancier can start work training them, but 

 it is a big mistake to get them flying strong on the wing 

 before they have been thoroughly taught to drop freely 

 at their owner's call when he puts his decoys out. Many 

 a good kit has been lost through a fly away scare or 

 a storm. 



The best staple diet for Tipplers in training is old 

 English malting barley. I used to buy my barley and 



