PRINCIPLE OF BREEDING. 215 



be lost altogether, and by the various tests one pair is found 

 best in strength and intelligence — for there is no doubt these 

 birds find their way home by observation and not by blind 

 iastinct, as some suppose. The progeny of this best pair wUl 

 produce a greater number of good Homers than the inferior 

 birds would do. In Belgium the best performers only have 

 been bred from for generations, and the rigorous training 

 weeds out the iaferior ones wholesale. These come over to 

 England largely, and can be had at a cheap rate. But to 

 breed from them is to reverse all the rules by which success 

 was obtained ; it is exactly analogous to attempting to breed 

 fancy pigeons from parents which possess no properties. The 

 only road to success is the simple rule of only breeding 

 from proved good performers. Much crossiug is required to 

 keep up nervous and muscular energy; but every cross 

 must be the very best performer the purse can aiford. 



It follows that the breeder of Homing Pigeons must face 

 wholesale losses; unless his training is severe enough to 

 discard all below a certain standard, in fact, he cannot succeed. 

 His losses are not mere accidents, hut part of his process, and 

 simply represent to him the inferior birds of the fancier. This 

 should he well understood, as many attempt to avoid losing birds 

 in this way by draining easily. They keep the birdi ; but they 

 lose all the qualities for which they are valuable. 



It will be seen that it is useless to start a loft by buying 

 old birds to turn loose. If worth their salt, they would be off 

 at once. When old ones are purchased, therefore, they must 

 either be confined in a loft and wire aviary, or all the web of 

 the feather may be stripped from the shafts of the flights on 

 one side, and the birds let out after going to nest. It is best, 

 as a rule, to obtain young ones just able to leave their parents. 

 As soon as these are strong enough to fiy, they should be allowed 

 for some days to view the neighbourhood from the area, without 

 being let out; after which preparation they may be let out 



