DOVECOTES AND PIGEON LOFTS. 



39 



these disadvantages is, that the same number of birds will not rear half the number 

 of young in an exposed pigeon-house that they would if placed in a comfortable, 

 well-sheltered loft or room. 



If pigeon-houses are employed at all, they should always have a broad roof, 

 projecting far over the sides, so as to screen off the rain as far as possible. 

 Houses on poles are worse even than lockers placed against a wall, as being 

 less sheltered, and offering the smallest amount of accommodation for the 

 inmates. 



The following plan for their improvement has been proposed by E. S. Delamer, 

 who writes : — 



" The best pole-house with which we are acquainted, is that of which a plan and 

 elevation are given in the accompanying cuts (sec Figure VI.). A pair of birds 









r^ 







d 



40*1) 



H* 12 



40*11 



Kj 



D 



B 



c 









b 



jt 





< 2J07z -. 



FIO. VI. PLAN AND ELEVATION OF A TWO-STORIED POLE PIGEON-HOUSE. 



take possession of the suite of apartments whose landing-place is marked A. They 

 will probably pass through the vestibule B, when they first bring in straws for a nest, 

 and deposit them in one of the chambers, as C. When the young are a fortnight 

 or three weeks old, the hen will probably leave them mostly to the care of the 

 cock, and make a fresh nest, and lay in the opposite apartment, D. As soon as 

 the first pair of young are flown, C will be vacant for the hatching of a third 

 brood, and so, by shifting alternately from parlour to study, and never being 

 idle, a good pair of birds will produce quite a little flock by the end of the 

 summer. 



"It is easy to make use of this arrangement on a larger scale, or to apply it 

 to the triangular frames of lockers which are fixed against barns and other 

 outbuildings." 



There can be no doubt that this plan is really far superior to the ordinary 

 pole-house, as offering much more accommodation to the sitting birds : the 

 design, however, is capable of considerable improvement. If the sloping boards 

 forming the roof were much larger, so as to extend farther over the ends 

 and sides, the upper story would be more perfectly sheltered from sun and rain ; 

 and if the alighting boards, or landing-places (A, A), extended along the entire 



