June, 1 913 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



PIGEON KEEPING FOR 

 RECREATION 



By E. I. FARRINGTON 



THOUGH it be true that fewer neople 

 keep fancy pigeons than keep fancy, 

 poultry, vet the army of pigeon fanciers is 

 much larger than most people realize. It 

 is a revelation to visit one of the large 

 shows and to see aisle after aisle lined with 

 coops containing fancy pigeons, the num- 

 bers of which run into the thousands and 

 with many individual specimens valued at 

 several hundred dollars. The men and 

 women who exhibit these birds are, for 

 the most part, amateurs who breed and 

 show their pigeons purely as a matter of 

 recreation and sport. Business and pro- 

 fessional men find relaxation and pleasure 

 in watching their beautiful and aristocratic 

 pets and in giving them the small amount 

 of attention required. 



Pigeons multiply rapidly, so that breed- 

 ing experiments give quick results. For 

 years the fanciers have been moulding and 

 fashioning the more common show types ; 

 centuries, in fact, have been required to 

 produce some of the varieties as they now 

 appear in all their grace and beauty. And 

 breeding pigeons true to type is a task which 

 demands no little knowledge and study. To 

 produce prize winning birds is the final 

 test of the fancier's skill and it is for that 

 reason that the awards of the show room 

 are so eagerly sought. At any show you 

 are likely to find bankers and ministers, 

 lawyers and doctors in animated discussion 

 concerning the respective merits of dif- 

 ferent birds ; likewise the faults and foibles 

 of the judges. 



The different varieties of pigeons num- 

 ber many scores, all descended, it is su- 

 posed, from the common rock pigeon of 

 Europe. The kinds most common among 

 the fanciers in this country include Fan- 

 tails, Tumblers, Pouters, Jacobins, Drag- 

 oons, Homers. Carriers, Helmets, Tipplers, 

 Xuns, Owls, Oriental Frills. Turbits and 

 Archangels — a list which offers some in- 

 dication of the opportunity for choice which 

 the fancier has. Then, too, some families 

 are sub-divided to an extent which is 

 frankly confusing. At the last Boston show, 

 for example, twenty-five varieties of 

 Tumblers were entered. 



Fantails, Jacobins, Tumblers, Pouters, 

 and Carriers are especially popular. The 

 Fantail's ability to spread its tail in pea- 

 cock fa.-hion is well known. There are 

 black, red. yellow, and blue as well as white 

 Pantails. 



The special feature of the Jacobins is a 

 sort of feathered hood around the neck, 

 which bears an amusing resemblance to a 

 lady's boar. This hood starts at the eyes 

 and extends over the head. Jacobins are 

 among the mo-t attractive of pigeons and 

 are widely bred. 



Tumbler, get their name from the fact 

 that they turn somersaults in the air. They 

 are the circus performers of the species, 

 Pouter- are well known because of the 



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