86 



PIGEONS. 



after this crossed breed had been originated that the long distances now so 

 commonly passed over were flown. 



To produce good birds, and to continue the race, judicious crossing, continued to 

 the right point, is requisite. M. Coopers recommends crossing first a Bee- Anglais 

 or Dragon with a Smerle or a Cumulet ; and the products of the cross with the 

 Sruerle, when a year old, to be crossed with a Cumulet ; or the cross-bred 

 Cumulet and Bee- Anglais to be crossed with a Smerle. 



The half-bred Bee- Anglais with Smerle or Cumulet, is called a Demi-bee. The 

 following generation, bred again from a Smerle or Cumulet, is called a Quart-bee. 

 The Demi-bee is strong enough to make voyages, but not of any very great 

 distance. The Quart-bee, though smaller, is a more excellent long-distance flyer, 

 and may with success be crossed again with Smerles or Cumulets. Although 

 many amateurs breed birds having a little more of the character of one or other 

 of these original varieties named, or of a particular colour, these variations do not 

 affect the good qualities of the race. 



M. Coopers says that it is not desirable to hatch flying birds after the end 

 of August, as the young pigeons do not make their full and regular moult, 

 consequently cannot be trained the same year ; and have not, during the following 

 year, the value of young that are more timely bred. 



On the other hand, young birds hatched before April suffer from cold before 

 being perfectly fledged, and want of food during the long nights when the parents 

 cannot feed them. 



During many years, writes M. Coopers, people have believed that pigeons 

 always direct their flight towards the north, but experience has demonstrated the 

 contrary, for they come back with as much ease from north to south as in the 

 opposite direction. The circumstances that have given rise to this supposition 

 are, that pigeons trained at first for journeys from the south, have been suddenly 

 sent to great distances towards the north, and the greater part of them have 

 been lost; but, prepared in the same manner in the north as in the south, they 

 come back equally well from a similar distance. Journeys made from London, 

 Birmingham, and Hull, to Brussels and Antwerp, have demonstrated this. 



It is well known that pigeons direct themselves by sight to the houses where they 

 were reared. The Homing pigeons of Belgium, when liberated from the baskets in 

 which they are forwarded great distances from home, fly round together ; of those 

 which take a wrong direction, a certain part return to the spot the next day, and 

 are captured there, proving that they recognize even a new locality in an instant. 



The Cumulets of M. A. Coopers are also known as Volants or Highflyers : 

 of these birds Mr. Kenrick, of Bruges, informs me : — " The true-bred Volants are 

 either black, white, or white with a little red on their necks and bodies. They 

 have even whiter pearl eyes than Tumblers, and the black pupil of the eye is 

 extremely small. They are most extraordinary birds to fly high, and have been 

 known to keep on wing nine, ten, and eleven hours at a stretch. Their heads are 

 not what is termed ' mousey,' but are more elegantly shaped than Tumblers. 



