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ILLUSTRATED STOCK DOCTOR. 
and for fancy purposes. . As an article of food nothing is more delicate 
or commands a higher price than a squab, while breeders of high- 
class pigeons realize enormous sums from the sale of a single bird, 
according to their standard of breeding. 
Building the Loft. 
The housing of pigeons plays no mean part in the success of a 
pigeon fancier. Take any exhibitor of note, whether of horses, cattle, 
or dogs, and he will tell you that good housing is an essential point. 
While good houses are a necessity for the successful rearing of pigeons, 
elaborate houses are not to be desired. For preference, and if to be 
permanent, brick buildings are best. But these are far too expensive. 
jsX/UI; CHECK HOMER. 
except in the case of a man wdth an unlimited purse. Brick under- 
pinnings to a hight of 18 inches and the rest boarded is a good plan, 
but this is expensive also. The best buildings, therefore, to suit ordi- 
nary fanciers, are those made of boards nailed to posts driven into the 
ground. Each bird should have at least 12 feet of cubic space, besides 
the cubic spice in the flight, and the breeding places more. This 
