78 PiGEOXS AND iVLL AbOUT ThE.M. 



puts the hall-mark npon them. If they are found to 

 be of service by men who are well versed in the man- 

 agement of Pigeons, how much more valuable must 

 they be to the young amateur who is not up to all the 

 little dodges which experience teaches? 



AIIVANTAGES OP TO-DAV. 



This is one of the things in which the amateur 

 of to-day has an advantage over fanciers of twenty or 

 thirty years back. In those days there -were none 

 such. Good food even was difficult to obtain, but 

 now \\'c have corn-ohau'dlers all O'Ver the kiiugdom 

 taking far more interest in Pigeon corn than they 

 used to do, and some even making it a special line 

 of their business. This being so. Pigeon-keeping is 

 a much more pleasant and profitable hobby than it 

 used to be in the da^'s of 3'ore. Happy they who are 

 fanciers in the twentieth century. 



The treatment -^Adiich I have described for vhe 

 first pair applies with ecpial force to the second and 

 third pairs, and beyond this it is not wise to go. 

 Three pairs of yoimg arc (|uite enough for any pair 

 of Pigeons to bring up in a season. The reasons why 

 are various. In the first place late-bred youngsters 

 never do nuich good. They are born too late to ever 

 have anv chance in the show pen, and arc too young 

 to commence breeding «-ith at the beginning of the 

 following season. It should be an unwritten rule in 

 the management of every Pigeon aviary never Jo 

 hatch out any eggs laid after the end of June^fsome of 

 our most successful fanciers are even more stringent 

 still against late-bred birds, and they never allow their 

 birds to incubate any eggs laid after the first or second 

 week in June. 



IvATE BREEDING TO BE AVOIDED. 



Late-hatched birds are, of necessity, late in moult- 

 ing, and late-moulting birds are slow-moulting birds, 

 which means tha't they are casting their coats dmnng 

 the cold, damp days of November and Decemlier, at 

 which time they need all the sustenance the>- deri\-e 

 from their food to keep the cold i>ut, and give support 



