PROFITABLE AS SIDE LINE 563 



My advice to the beginner would be to start with a few pairs 

 of birds, and not attempt to engage in the business on a com- 

 mercial scale unless experiments with a few pigeons clearly indi- 

 cate a worthwhile profit and success. Fifteen pairs can be 

 handled nicely in a back lot, and will help the beginner to splen- 

 did working knowledge, furnish squabs for home use, and add 

 to the future mating-pen. Do not plunge into the enterprise 

 under any circumstances, especially if you have never had actual 

 experience with livestock, and fail to appreciate that careful 



Fig. 337. — Homer pigeon. 



attention to details and the most exacting personal supervision 

 are required. 



Side Line. — On general farms, where a flock of pigeons may 

 obtain the greater part of their living from the fields, they will 

 return a nice revenue, at very little expense or trouble to their 

 keeper. The one difficulty with a flock at large, the pigeons may 

 be a nuisance to neighbors, or losses may occur by shooting and 

 by cats and hawks. Many pigeons are kept as a side issue on 

 general farms in the Middle West, but they are mostly of com- 



