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APPENDIX G 



FRESH AIR FOR THESE NORTH CAROLINA PIGEONS. 



CANADA COTE BUILT OF COTTON 

 CLOTH, by F. V. Dickson. It may be of in- 

 terest to your readers to hear something about 

 a Canadian squab plant. 



Last fall I tried the experiment of building a 

 squabhouse with cotton walls, two stories in 

 height. Ordinary cotton, at ten cents per 

 yard, was used. This was tacked to the up- 

 right scantlings, which were set at a proper 

 distance to suit the width of the cotton. Poul- 

 try netting was put on outside of the cotton. 

 On the east side, from which direction come 

 our prevailing high winds, another thickness 

 of cotton was put on. This house was cheap 

 to build, and is light, dry, and airy. It is 

 cold, but X have as vet seen no harm resulting 

 from that cause. A number of my birds have 

 been occupying it during the past winter, and 

 they have done as well, and raised as many 

 squabs, as any of my other birds. At present 

 the flock consists of about three hundred and 

 sixty pairs of birds. For the squabs I get $4 

 a dozen, the buyer paying the express charges. 



Question: What, if any;* is the difference 

 between the squab-breeding Homer and what 

 is generally called the Carrier pigeon? If the 

 Homer is not the same as the pigeon generally 

 used for long-distance flights, can it be trained 

 for such flights? Answer: There is no dif- 

 ference between the squab-breeding Homer 

 and the message-carrying pigeon. A carrier 

 pigeon is a Homer which has been trained. 

 There is a variety of pigeons known as English 

 Carriers, but these are not used for message 

 carrying. Everybody breeding squabs from 

 Homers can fly the young which he is raising. 



NORTH CAROLINA 

 SQUABS IN OPEN AIR, by 

 Julius A. Caldwell, M.D. 



We have been experiment- 

 ing with twenty-five pairs 

 of the best Homers. We 

 put them in a wire pen 24 

 feet X 12 feet x 12 feet built 

 against an old house whose 

 roof projected out about 

 five feet. This afforded 

 some protection from the 

 weather. I send " you a 

 sketch to show you the 

 idea more in detail. Find- 

 ing the work a pleasure as 

 well as profitable, even in 

 such an elementary manner 

 as this, I decided to build a 

 unit squabhouse and it is 

 now built. I am buying 

 some Cameaux to try also. 



HORSE RADISH AND 

 SPLIT PEAS, by Edward 



Gerhard. A good tonic for 

 pigeons is horse radish. 

 Plant it close up to the fly- 

 ing pen so the birds can 

 get at the leaves to eat 

 them. They are very fond 

 of them. I feed my pig- 

 eons split peas, which they enjoy. These 

 peas do not cost me very much. I get them 

 for seventy-five cents a bushel. It is the 

 cheapest feed that I buy. With wheat at 

 $1.20 a bushel, it does not pay to feed very 

 much wheat. I am raising squabs weighing 

 from twelve ounces to sixteen ounces apiece, 

 with the help of my split peas. These squabs 

 make the finest eating any one can have 

 placed before him 



ONE YEAR*S WORK, by Ward Edwards. 



One year ago this month I purchased four 

 pairs of the best Homers. I now have one 

 hundred and thirty-five pigeons in all. Of 

 course they are not all old enough to raise 

 yet, but if they continue to raise as fast, by 

 another year I will have over a thousand. I 

 should have bought more breeders and not 

 had to wait this long for them to multiply. 

 I have followed the directions in Rice's 

 Manual very closely and had no trouble with 

 my flock. I have kept close track of my 

 matings and have had little or no trouble 

 of inbreeding. I sell many squabs to private 

 residences and although raising to multiply 

 have made a nice little sum along with it. 



Question: Is rye a good food for pigeons? 

 Answer: If cheap and pure, it is useful in 

 connection with the other grains, but most 

 rye contains ergot, or false rye, which acts as 

 a mild poison, harmful to both pigeons and 

 poultry. The ergot grains are larger than the 

 rye grains. When you buy rye, look at the 

 grains and if they are not uniform in size and 

 color, don't buy. 



