48 Pigeons and All About Them. 



thing is tliat these self-formed attachments of Pig'eons 

 are generally speaking, \-e.ry strong and binding upon 

 the parties concerned. But as promiscuous pairing 

 cannot for one moment be allowed in a well-ordered 

 aviary, the birds must not be given the chance to pick 

 their own partners. ,Some birds pair up very quickly 

 and readily, and are such good-tempered, sweet dis- 

 positioned little creatures that they never cause their 

 master or mistress a moment's worry or anxiety, 

 whilst others are so full of the spirit of contrariness 

 that they would almost make a saint s\vear. Still, it 

 is no use losing one's temper in the Pigeon loft. 

 Kindness, firmness, and perseverance bring their own 

 reward there, even as thev do in many other things. 



A NEEDED VIRTUE. 



Patience ! One needs a goodly stock of this 

 virtue at the commencement of the breeding season, 

 especiall}' if there are any of these giddy, flighty, 

 refractorj^ birds in the loft. If the birds have seittled 

 things nicely ere you let them out, j-ou will have no 

 trouble, but if you see the leaSt sign of coldness or 

 indifference to the charms of the mate you have 

 picked for any particular bird, you must at once put 

 them in confinement again. If not, there will be 

 trouble, and a lot of it. Should you have a place in 

 which you can pen your birds for pairing, you should, 

 when they are ready, put them all in the loft together 

 and let theiii select their own nesting places. There 

 ■will be a few free fights, but you need not interfere 

 unless a couple of cocks should be extra pugnacious, 

 and feel inclined to fight to the death. This does 

 happen sometimes, but very rarely. \Anien it does you 

 must step in and fasten one pair up in a box, and" let 

 the others take the box over which the battle-roval 

 arose. It is the cocks, as a rule, which select the 

 breeding place when the birds are turned loose in the 

 loft in this fashion, and it is astonishing hnw thev 

 will fight for possession of tlie box to which thev 

 ha\-e taken a fancy. Speaking generall}-, cocks which 

 fight well for their home make most excellent parents 

 and good breeders. 



