The Breeds of Pigeons. 167 



Scale of value of each point, total loo. — Head, 

 15 ; beak, 2 ; wattle, 2 ; eye, 5 ; cere, 5 ; neck, 5 ; 

 chest, 5 ; back. 5 ; body, 5 ; wings and flights, 15 ; 

 tail, 4; carriage, 5; size, 5; colour, 5; condition, is; 

 Legs, 2. 



The colours most generally shown, are Reds, 

 Red Chequers, JMealies, Blues, Blue Ohequers, Blacks, 

 Black Chequers, and Pieds. 



THE WORKING OR RACING HOMER. 



The sport of Pigeon Flying has made tremen- 

 dous strides during the last few }'ears, and to-day 

 there must be at least 34,000 to 40,000 people in- 

 terested in the sport in the United Kingdom alone. 

 The National Homing Union has a membership of 

 more than half that of the figures given, and it is 

 only fair to assume that where at least there is one 

 fancier who is a member of that organisation, there 

 is another who is not. 



The sport of Pigeon racing is most alDsorbing, 

 enthralling, and exciting, even whilst it is one of the 

 most holiest and best conducted of sports. In Pigeon 

 racing, every bird is his own jocke}-, and thus there 

 is little opportunity for mal-practices. The amount 

 of nioncv which is flown for each year runs into 

 hundreds of thousands of pounds, and if statistics 

 could be compiled I have no doubt that we should 

 find that quite ;(^500,ooo is flown for each year in the 

 United Kingdom. On the continent the total 



amount would perhaps not amount to- so much in 

 the aggregate, but the prizes are very valuable, owing 

 to the system of pooling, which is more advanced 

 than with us. In the best races in Belgium, it is 

 not unusual for a bird to win from iisoo to £1,000 in 

 one race. The excitement occasioned by the National 

 races extends from one end of the country to the 

 other, and it is not at all unusual for the whole of 

 a man's friends to find the money to enter the crack 

 of his loft in a number of the pools in the big races. 



The question as to how birds "home" has never 

 yet been solved. Some argue that the birds fly by 

 instinct, others say it is sight; others again persist 

 that reasoning power is the faculty that brings birds 



