102 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 
as many nest boxes as you wish. Then count your nest 
boxes and you will know how many birds you can accommo- 
date. You must have two nest boxes for every pair of birds. 
Always allow more nest boxes than there are pigeons, and do 
not crowd the birds, as we have explained on page 29. 
Question. How does the male bird impregnate the female 
bird? They do not seem to me to act as roosters and hens do. 
Answer. The human eye is not sharp and quick enough to 
follow the actions of the male bird. He mounts the female 
in a manner which is called “‘ treading.’”” A female occasion- 
ally will ‘‘ tread” the male bird, exactly as a female animal 
when in excessive heat sometimes will mount the male, or 
another female. Customers who had what they thought was 
a doubtful pair sometimes have written us saying that each 
would tread the other, and that of course both were males. 
After a while the same customer would write and say that the 
pair fooled him and that he had two eggs from them. The 
actions are in nine cases out of ten, of course, a positive guide, 
but there are exceptions to every rule. 
Question. (1) The legs of the pigeon you sent me are 
red; are they inflamed? (2) The droppings are soft and 
mushy; I am afraid they have diarrhoea. What shall I do? 
(8) Most of my pigeons have a warty-like substance on their 
bills, varying in size with the pigeon; how shall I get rid of it? 
Answer. (1) The red color which you see is perfectly natural. 
The legs of all Homer pigeons are red. (2) The natural 
droppings of the pigeon are soft and somewhat loose. When 
they have diarrhoea the droppings are extremely watery and 
the tail feathers are soiled. Your pigeons are all right and 
have no diarrhoea. (3) The growth of which you speak is 
perfectly natural. It varies in size with the pigeon, sometimes 
covering the base of the bill, in other cases clinging closely to it. 
Question. Can I figure with certainty that of each pair 
of squabs which my birds hatch, one is a male and the other 
a female? Answer. Not with absolute certainty, but as a 
rule. It is Nature’s way to provide for an equal number of 
males and females, for that.is the way the species mates and 
is reproduced. 7 F 
Question. Enclosed find ten dollars, for which please send 
me settings of pigeon eggs to that value, and send me the 
balance due, if-any. Answer. We do not sell pigeon eggs. 
