34 



straight breast bone; wings to have powerful butts, flight to be 

 broad, strong and closely overlapped ; good secondary feather 

 and covering; tail close fitting, having the appearance of one 

 feather ; carriage bdld and alert size, mediurti and evety point in 

 proportion. 



Training the Flying or Racing Hoffler. 



No variety of pigeons is so much attached to their hoine as 

 the homer, and such a thing as a homer leaving his home loft 

 and taking up his abode in another, as sometimes others do, 

 never occurs. The h'ofne instinct is bred in them ; indeed, so 

 much of this instinct is impressed in their nature that well-bred 



The Flying Homer. 



ones rarely alight on any place but their own loft. Surrounding 

 roofs of buildings are seldom used by them as a loafing place. 

 The instinct for home in them makes them easily trained for 

 long distance flights. If pains are taken in training and condi- 

 tioning them, long and rapid flights are made easy by them, and 

 the number of birds lost in long distance flights is very small 

 if they have been carefully prepared. 



In training old or young birds for homing races, the birds 

 should be allowed to take daily exercise around the home loft. 

 They should not be allowed unlimited liberty at all times, but 



