TIGEONS, BIRDS, AND PET STOCK. 
PART XIII. 
GENERAL MANAGEMENT— STANDARD VARIETIES OF PIGEONS. 
POPULAR VARIETIES OF CAGE BIRDS— RABBITS, GUINEA 
PIGS, AND CATS. 
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY GEORGE E. HOWARDt 
CHAPTER I. 
PIGEONS. 
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 
BUILDING THE LOFT.— PERCHES FOR PIGEONS.— FOOD FOR PIGEONS.— POPULAR 
VARIETIES OF PIGEONS. — DISEASES OF PIGEONS. 
The Romans kept domestic pigeons very much as we do now; they 
were reared for fancy purposes and as an article of food. According 
to Pliny, the Campanian pigeons were of the largest size. In speaking 
of the fancy he says: "Many are mad with the love of these birds; they 
build towers for them on their roofs, and will relate the high breeding 
and ancestry of each after the ancient fashion.” Pigeons became the 
trusty letter-carriers of those remote times, and it is likely that this 
feature had more than anything else to do with their popularity. It is 
evident that the pigeon has been a profitable pet down through the 
ages, claiming amongst its admirers the most' learned men of the world. 
There are every shape and color in pigeons, and the delicate tints 
of the feathers seem hardly possible to be a part of a living thing, which 
bespeaks well the patience and skill of the men who bred them. It 
would be a difficult matter to find the high standard of excellence here 
portrayed in any other tha'n feathered beauty. 
The business of pigeon raising would be a good field for the Ameri- 
can farmer to cultivate — one in which there is both pleasure and profit. 
On many farms are seen empty lofts of barns and outhouses that are 
of no use whatever, which could be utilized with profit for a pigeon 
loft. This is a growing industry, and one that is likely to reach large 
proporti ons in the near future. Pigeons aje kept as au article of food 
bib 
