APPENDIX F 251 
a very young hen. Such a pair will frequently breed well; and we have 
had fine strong young ones from an old Barb over ten years of age, which 
won many prizes. But it is in such cases particularly needful to avoid 
having in the same loft any lively young cock with a strong voice, for if this 
be the case, the young hen will frequently leave her eggs to reach and pair 
with the young bird, even though he be already mated, and thus all the 
owner’s plans are liable to be frustrated. For although pigeons as a rule 
pair with great fidelity, exceptions are by no means rare; and cases have 
‘been known in which a cock has mated with two hens, and even assisted 
both in hatching and rearing their young; while we once possessed a cock 
which, though he never aided them in family duties, regularly paired with no 
less than five hens. This case being so very remarkable, we took particular 
notice of it, and can vouch for the truth of what we state. To the naturalist 
such instances are particularly interesting; as showing that, under some 
circumstances, pigeons might possibly become gregarious like poultry. 
The above paragraph we have taken word for word from the writings 
of Mr. Fulton, the best English authority, to which our attention was first 
called in December, 1908. Readers of this Manual will note that his ideas 
correspond with ours—indeed, such things are not a matter of opinion, 
they are a matter of fact. What one observer sees, another will see. In 
the light of the above, how absurd it is for a pigeon tradesman to represent 
in his advertisements or printed matter that he controls the matings or love 
affairs of his birds to the extent of assuring the probable purchaser that they 
are absolutely and irrevocably ‘‘ married for life,’ ‘‘ mated absolutely-never- 
to-be-changed.”” The object of such representation is to convince the 
probable purchaser that the pairs will go to work in a-new home exactly 
according to schedule or pre-arrangement, and that all he has to do is to 
take feed and water to them, and exchange the squabs at intervals for half- 
dollars. Such claims are made with the intense anxiety of consummating 
a sale by assertions just a little more plausible, regardless of the habits of 
the pigeons. ve ie 
TWIGS FOR NESTING MATERIALS. ; 
Some pairs will build their nests entirely or partly of twigs,-if given the 
opportunity. A customer in New York read of pine needles in this book, , 
so thought of twigs. He put in half a bushel or so of dry old hemlock twigs. ; 
All used them and one pair made their nest wholly of them. : 
Another of our friends states that he has solved the nesting material 
proposition, as far as his own squab raising is concerned (pleasure and hobby). 
Instead of providing the birds any tobacco stems, or other nesting material, 
he does not give them anything, except to fill their nappies (or the little 
two-inch deep by 15-inch square boxes that he has for them to build in) 
with sawdust, or fine shavings from the local saw mill. The birds do well 
in them, and when he takes out a pair of squabs for the nippers, he empties 
out the sawdust, which nearly cleans the nappies and what does remain 
is very easily removed with trowel and brush. He then refills them with 
fresh sawdust or fine shavings, and they are ready for use again. He has 
found this very successful. New birds have to get used to the change but it 
does not take them long to take to it. Young birds of course, raised in 
them, do not know anything else. 
