QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 105 
in acorner. Grasp it and hold its wings firmly and it will not 
struggle. Or you may make a net on the end of a pole, like 
an ordinary fish landing net, and scoop the bird into it as it 
flies through the air. 
Question. Suppose I have several squab houses, as you 
describe, but let all the birds together in one large flying 
pen, where they can bathe from one large fountain. Answer. 
This is all right if you do not wish to keep close track of your 
birds. If the birds can roam from one house to another, 
there is nothing to prevent a pair from building one nest on 
one house and then going to another house to build the second 
nest. 
Question. I believe I will put a ‘strip of wire or piece of 
wood across the front of each nest box so as to keep each 
pair more secluded, and to keep the nests from dropping out. 
Answer. Don’t do it. Don’t worry about the nests falling 
out. Build the pigeon-holes perfectly plain. 
Question. How many squabs shall I pack in one box when 
sending to market? Amswer. Having picked out the size 
of the box you wish, fill it up close with squabs, so they will 
not ‘‘ shuck.”’ As to the size of the box, make it as big or 
little as you please, but do not make it any bigger than one 
expressman can handle easily. A good size is two feet square 
and one foot deep. 
Question. Send me two males and ten females. Answer. 
You must buy your birds in pairs. They pair off in this way, 
namely, one male to one female. One male does not have 
two or three females. We have heard pigeon breeders talk 
of having one cock which would attend two hens, but never 
had a case in our experience. 
Question. After plucking the squab, and before sending 
it to market, do you remove the entrails? Answer. No. 
Question. In order to avoid the trouble of using the 
mating coop, may I put an equal number of cocks and hens 
in the same pen? Answer. Yes. 
Question. Can I discover the male and female organs by 
examination of the birds with a magnifying glass? Answer. 
No. You can discover them by dissecting the dead bird. 
Question. Suppose I build the nest boxes larger, so as to 
give a shelf on which the bitds can alight? Answer. Don’t 
doit. The bird will fly directly into the nest, or onto the nest 
