40 riGEON.S AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



DANGER IN IMPORTING. 



OFTEN" an ambitious fancier takes it fur granted that 

 the birds of this country are not good enough for him 

 and he must therefore import. He thinks he must go 

 to the fountain head, I.e. to England or Scotland. Often he is 

 led to do this liy the fictitious idea that all imjiorted birds are 

 good ones. 



Tliere never was a greater mistake. Things are better now, 

 liut I can remember when America (or " the States" as the 

 English and Scotch called our country) was considered a 

 dumi>ing jdace for "rubbish." Not only do I know this by 

 actual experience, but I have read articles in the leading 

 pigeon papers of the other side, in which the editors called on 

 the fanciers to give their American patrons the worth of their 

 money and stop unloading on them birds that were only " lit 

 for the pot." It is only a few years since importing began. 

 I can remember when the English band was such ararity here 

 that a bird wearing one was looked on with awe and supposed 

 to be something far above the ordinary. If a judge heard 

 that so and so had imported a pair of birds, or if, in his 

 judging, he ran across a bird with an English band, he was 

 disposed to give it the full benefit of every doubt for fear that 

 placing it down where it justly belonged, would reflect on his 

 ability as a judge. 



The English and Scotch knew just as little about us as we 

 did aliout them. I ordered four pairs of Fans from Scotland 

 some years ago and the sender shipped them in a )>ox that 

 would do to hold a raging tiger. It was of heavy oak and 

 nailed and bolted all over. I could ship two hundred birds to 

 any part of this country for wliat it cost nie to get that box 

 expressed from Xew York alone. 



Then I had to pay for watching, or tendinj^, or somethino- 

 while tiicy came over, and it cost me a nice vnm (,, o,,^ them 



