28 o 
The Illustrated Book of Plgeons. 
in bad weather, and the master should not himself be an amateur, they may perhaps be sent off' 
in a pouring rain ; or, perchance, they are delayed in their arrival, and liberated at sunset or later 
still. Again, the station-master himself may be away or particularly engaged, and the birds be 
thus unavoidably relegated to a porter, or some one else, and thus receive too little or too much 
attention, as the case may be ! All these difficulties are obviated by the employment of an 
attendant ; but the luxury is a costly one, and, therefore, cannot usually be indulged in by the 
ordinary run of amateurs. 
“ The receptacle for the birds during transit is worthy of some thought, and especially that 
one in which they are carried when taking their early Lessons, and have therefore to be carried by 
hand. A small wicker basket does very well if nothing else be at hand, about fourteen inches by 
six inches, by eight inches or nine inches deep. This will hold four birds very well. A better 
plan is to be provided with a box made of light pine, fourteen and a half inches by six and a 
quarter inches, the depth being regulated by the number of floors required. Each floor should be 
about five inches in height, with a partition running diagonally across from corner to corner, but 
not running quite close up to the sides, leaving a space of one inch or half an inch between the 
end of the partition and the sides of the box. The top, sides, and bottom are all dovetailed, or 
otherwise secured, a leather handle being screwed upon the top. The ends should be made to 
draw up and down (as the lid of a box for chessmen would if the box stood on its end). The plan 
of each floor would be thus with the partition a upon it. Each floor thus holds two birds, and by 
Fig. 67. 
having two or three floors, which will not make the box too deep to be carried comfortably, two or 
three pairs are easily stowed away. The air-holes should be bored on one side only, two or more 
rows from the top to the bottom. The box can thus be carried with the side pierced with the 
holes inside, next to the legs when walking, and it is almost impossible for passengers to tell that 
it is a pigeon box at all. This is an advantage, as some people are particularly curious as to 
pigeons, especially youngsters, who hope to see the birds liberated. A box so constructed is very 
easy to carry, as the arm may be kept tolerably close to the side, and not have to be stretched out a 
foot or so as with a broad hamper ; the birds are also kept separate, and there is no unseemly 
fighting or cooing on the way. In filling it, care must be taken at each end of the box to put in 
at the top, or first, the bird required to be thrown last , as on pulling up the end the bottom bird is 
liberated first. 
“ For training a number of birds by rail various hampers or panniers have been tried, but those 
used by the London Amateur Pigeon Society appear to me to be of a very convenient pattern. 
They are made of osiers peeled, and in size are thirty-six by eighteen inches, and nine inches in 
depth ; the fronts and backs are closely woven, as also the ends, with the exception of a space left 
right across from front to back, across the ends, through which the birds may put their heads to 
drink from a vessel placed in a wicker guard, interwoven with the hamper. The tops are open 
wicker-work, and made fast with the ends and back, having also a small opening in the centre about 
seven inches by five inches through which to fill the pannier. The front hinges on the bottom, and 
thus lets down, like the trap of an area or as a flap. Two straps go round across the top, bottom, 
and sides, one near each end, and riveted to the bottom. A piece of cloth or sacking is put at the 
bottom, and a layer of dry tan put in. This is the best possible material for the purpose, as it does 
