KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



denly attack each other in turns ; bnt when 

 the sanguine ants perceive that the wood- 

 ants are advancing in force against them, 

 they inform those at the ant-hill, by messen- 

 gers, of the need in which they stand of 

 their assistance. Immediately a consider- 

 able army is despatched from the san- 

 guine city, advances in a body, and sur- 

 rounds the enemy. I have witnessed in- 

 stances of this kind every day for several 

 weeks, the ant hills being at the same hedge, 

 but at some distance from each other, and 

 the combats renewed every day.' " 



Now that the Summer really is come, 

 we shall be watching the manoeuvres of 

 the insect creation in the open fields and 

 forests, almost daily. We shall thus have 

 frequent opportunities for returning to the 

 habits of this and other equally interesting 

 insects — opportunities that will not be lost 

 sight of. 



PIGEONS. 



HABITS OF THE DOVECOT PIGEON. 



Our common dovecot pigeon is only a 

 half-reclaimed bird ; not being sufficiently 

 domesticated to be deemed private property 

 in the strictest sense of the word. Thus, I 

 may raise any quantity of these pigeons ; 

 but, if they should forsake my dovecot, and 

 retire to that of my neighbor, I cannot claim 

 them. However, in order that dovecot 

 pigeons may not fall into the hands of those 

 who contribute nothing to their support, the 

 Legislature has enacted a fine of forty shil- 

 lings to be paid by him who has been con- 

 victed of having shot a dovecot pigeon. 



This Act, till of late years, was of great 

 use to the farmer; for it enabled him to raise 

 this useful bird in vast abundance : but now 

 the times are changed. The owners of dove- 

 cots have to complain, not only of barge- 

 men, who shoot their pigeons along the 

 whole line of the canals, whenever an oppor- 

 tunity offers, but also of a plundering set of 

 land vagabonds, who attack the dovecots in 

 the dead of the night, and sometimes actu- 

 ally rob them of their last remaining bird. 

 The origin of this novel species'of depreda- 

 tion can be clearly traced to the modern 

 amusement, known by the name of a pigeon- 

 shooting match. A purveyor is usually en- 

 gaged by the members. He offers a tempting 

 price to poachers and other loose characters, 

 and they agree to supply him with any quan- 

 tity of dovecot pigeons, to be ready for the 

 day on which the cruel exhibition is to take 

 place. Generally, under the covert of a dark 

 night, these hired thieves go to the place 

 where they have previously seen a ladder, 

 and carry it off to the devoted dovecot, upon 

 the outside of which they mount, and with 



great caution fix a net to the glover, or aper- 

 ture, on the top of the building. After they 

 have effected this, they descend from the 

 roof, and immediately force the door to get 

 at the pigeons. Should, however, their ori- 

 ginal survey of the dovecot, prior to their 

 mounting on it, have shown them that the 

 door is strong enough to resist their attempts 

 to break it open, they take the precaution 

 to leave a man on the roof, where he seizes 

 the pigeons as soon as they become entan- 

 gled in the net. In the meantime, his asso- 

 ciates below tap sufficiently loud at the door 

 of the dovecot, to cause the pigeons to start 

 from their roost and try to escape. Thus the 

 hopes of the farmer are utterly destroyed, 

 and a supply of birds is procured for the 

 shooting matches in a manner not over and 

 above creditable to civilised society. It 

 remains with the members of the club to 

 decide, whether it be honorable or just in 

 them to encourage these midnight depre- 

 dators. They must be aware that all the 

 pigeons which they buy are old ones; and 

 that old ones are never offered for sale by the 

 owners of dovecots. 



No farm-yard can be considered complete 

 without a well-stocked dovecot, the con- 

 tents of which make the owner a most ample 

 return, and repay him abundantly for the 

 depredations which the pigeons are wont to 

 make upon his ripening corn. He commands 

 a supply of delicious young birds for his 

 table ; and he has the tillage from the dove- 

 cot, which is of vast advantage to his barley 

 land. Moreover, the pigeons render him an 

 essential service, by consuming millions of 

 seeds which fall in the autumn, and which, if 

 allowed to remain on the ground, would rise 

 up the following year, in all the rank exu- 

 berance of weed, and choke the wholesome 

 plant. 



A dovecot ought to be well lighted ; and 

 it should be white-washed once every year. 

 The tillage which it produces may be re- 

 moved early in November, and again at the 

 end of February. The young of the dovecot 

 pigeon, like all others of the columbine 

 order, are reared in a nest lined by their own 

 dung : which, if left in the hole after the 

 birds are gore, is apt to harbour vermin. 

 Wherefore, cleanliness dictates its early 

 removal. 



No dovecot can possibly thrive if rats have 

 found an entrance into it. These cruel and 

 audacious plunderers will destroy every young 

 pigeon within their reach. Oust them you 

 must, and preclude their return, be the cost 

 ever so great ; otherwise, disappointment 

 will most assuredly be your lot. 



The barn-owl and the btarling are harm- 

 less unoffending visitors to the dovecot : 

 they repair to it merely for shelter, or for a 

 breeding-place ; so that I always like to see 



