106 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 
box in front of the nest. You do not need an alighting place. 
Question. Seems to me that if I start with forty-eight 
pairs of birds, I ought to have ninety-six perches. Amswer. 
The birds do not all perch at the same time. While some 
are perching, others are on the nests, or walking on the floor, 
or are outside in the flying pen, or on the roof. Put up a few 
perches where you have room and let it go at that. 
Question. I live in England; can you ship me twenty-four 
pairs of your breeders? Answer. Yes; the transportation 
charges will be four dollars. In addition. you will have to pay 
the butcher or steward of the boat ten shillings for feeding 
and watering the birds. Send us six dollars and fifty cents 
in addition to the regular price of the birds and we will ship 
to you all charges prepaid. In shipping to Cuba and remote 
points in the United States and Canada, we do not have to 
pay anything extra for the feeding and watering of the birds; 
the express charges include the feeding and watering. 
Question. What is a Runt pigeon? Please quote prices 
on a dozen pairs of Runts. Answer. A Runt pigeon is a 
special breed of pigeon, remarkable for its large size. They 
come all colors, as a Homer does. The white Runts are an 
exceptionally beautiful bird and command large prices, as 
high as six dollars to fifteen dollars a pair. The squabs which 
Runts breed weigh from eighteen ounces to one and one-half 
pounds at four weeks. If Runts bred as fast as Homers, they 
would be just the bird for squab breeders, but they are 
fatally ‘slow in breeding, as a rule. The Homers raise two 
pairs of squabs to the Runts’ one. Therefore itis of course 
more profitable to raise Homers. We do not sell Runts and 
do not advocate their use either as a separate breed, or 
crossed up with Homers. The large, plump, thoroughbred 
Homer is the best. 
Question. What is the difference between the Homer and. 
Antwerp breeds of pigeons? Answer. No difference. The 
name is used interchangeably to apply to the same breed of 
pigeon. In New England we speak of them mostly as 
Homers. In some places they are called more often Antwerps. 
Question. Can 1 feed some of my squabs by -hand if nec- 
essary? Answer. Yes. Mix up a mushy, soft handful of 
grain, hold the squab in the left hand, close to your body, and 
with the thumb and first finger of your right hand force the 
