AREA AND BOI/TING WIRES. 



213 



Fig. 34. 



on a spindle ; but the simplest way of making them is to 

 bend the wire at right angles, and hang the bend in small 

 staples, as shown in Fig. 34. Besides the entering wires, it 

 is very handy to have one 

 or two bolting-wires be- 

 tween the area and the 

 loft, so that when a bird 

 comes in it cannot go at 

 once into the loft, but is 

 confined to the area, 

 where it can be easily caught. "When not wanted, these inner 

 bolting-wires can be tied back to the top of the area. Young 

 pigeons soon learn to use these bolting-wires ; but while they 

 are doing so it is usual to accommodate them by a slide in the 



top of the area, as 

 shown in Fig. 33. 

 By withdrawing 

 this, a square hole 

 is left, called a 

 " dropping - hole," 

 through which the 

 bird with imex- 

 tended pinions can 

 readily drop down, 

 but through which 

 its flapping wings 

 ■will not allow it to fly in an upward direction. 



If the loft is so situated that cats can reach it, precautions 

 must be taken against their entering, which can easily be done 

 by a balanced alighting board, shown in Fig. 35, where b repre- 

 sents the front of the area or loft, and c the bolting-wires. 

 The alighting board, d d, is fixed by a hinge, G, to a cross- 

 piece, F, which keeps the weight, b, from drawing the board 

 below a horizontal position. Tliis weight should be a shade 



