286 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 7, 1881. 
weather seems of little consequence to them) they often returned 
from the northward, having no doubt been carried to the east or west 
beyond their home. 
Three years had passed when a friend came on a visit from Led¬ 
bury, Herefordshire. This gentleman saw my Antwerps, and ex¬ 
pressed a wish for a pair or two to breed for table use. After he had 
left for home I caught three pairs, all bred in my Antwerp loft. 
They were put into a box (not a basket or cage), and addressed to a 
mutual friend in Manchester, as they could not reach Ledbury in one 
day from Glasgow. They reached Manchester in the evening, were 
re-booked for Ledbury next morning, and reached their destination 
that evening, but till then were not taken out of the box in which I 
had placed them. Before sending the birds away I had pulled the 
flight feathers out of the right wing'of each bird, and my instructions 
were, “ Keep them confined with such a netting as will let them see 
the locality till they have each had a nest of young ones, and are 
sitting upon their second eggs.” Those instructions were rigidly 
adhered to. One night when they were sitting on their second eggs 
the netting was removed, and the next morning the birds found 
themselves at liberty. A man was set to watch them. The cocks 
took sundry flights, and by-and-by relieved their mates who had been 
occupied in incubation. The hens came out and at once took wing. 
The date I cannot now give precisely, let us call it the 18th of July. 
On the morning of the 20th I had a letter from my friend dated the 
19th saying, “ The birds were let out yesterday morning as you in¬ 
structed, but two of them have not returned ; I am afraid they are 
lost.” While I was in the act of reading my friend’s letter, my man 
who attends to the birds came into my office saying, “ I think two of 
Mr.-’s birds are back.” Scarcely believing him I went into the 
yard, and there certainly were two of the hens I had sent to Ledbury. 
How, I can tell to a mile the distance between Glasgow and Led¬ 
bury, Herefordshire, by railway, but I will let your readers measure 
the distance as the crow flies, and decide whether or not this was a 
very long flight. Mark, first, that these birds had never been 
trained ; second, that they had never been in anyone’s hands till 
caught by me, when I pulled the flight feathers from one wing of 
each bird. The birds left their cote at Ledbury about 10 or 11 a.m. 
on the 18th, and as I did not know what day or week they were to be 
set at liberty, of course I did not expect them. Indeed, I never 
expected they would return to Glasgow on the wing. For all I 
know they may have reached on the evening of the 18th, or during 
the day of the 19th. 
Two months after this I gave to a friend in Paisley a pair of young 
ones ; they had only been two days outside the loft, and had never 
left it beyond a hundred yards. They were taken away squeakers 
and confined with a netting in front for three weeks, when let out 
they were at their birthplace in ten or twelve minutes. It is only 
seven miles to Paisley, but these birds had never been flown. 
Secondly, What is the compass by which the Carrier is enabled to 
steer his homeward course ? “ By landmarks,” it is commonly said. 
We know that all Pigeons have a homing propensity to some degree. 
Purchase a pair of young common birds, confine them a reasonable 
time, and give them liberty. After trimming their feathers they 
start on a flight, which is usually composed of one, two, or three 
circles, and as a rule, unless a strong wind carries them aside, they 
will alight on the highest attainable point above the place from 
which they started. Should they be unable to reach their new abode 
from fear, wind, or other cause, you will at night find them roosting 
on some windew-sill, ledge, or house top nearly above the place from 
which they had started. Should they be old birds they will either 
be off trying to find their old home, or from greater power of wing 
and from more experience having less fear, they will be found at 
night comfortably roosting in their new home. It is the nature of 
the Pigeon to “ fly to their windows.” There are no known land¬ 
marks in such cases. The birds no sooner reach the outside of the 
building than all is strange ; still they return to the spot they started 
from by some very wonderful instinct, whether that spot be in the 
city or in the country. It is not so, however, with the true Carrier 
set free in a strange or unknown place. The whole language of his 
flight and powers is—Home 1 
“ Where the free of soul were nursed 
Is the place that I love best.” 
I am told that the training of this bird is managed in this wise : He 
is first taken ten miles away and set at liberty, then twenty miles, 
and so on in the same direction. In some parts of England three or 
four towns or villages can be seen from one point, and it would 
require the powers of reason to distinguish one from the other. I do 
not suppose that the Carrier is endowed with reason. When the 
Carrier is let loose, say a few miles from home, he immediately rises 
in a spiral flight, the object of which is not to survey the strange 
locality, but to reach a certain altitude. When this has been 
attained he shoots off in the direction of home. It may be a few points 
to the right or to the left, but the rule is he holds on in the homeward 
direction. I have seen some birds go off in the contrary direction till 
nearly out of sight, when they will suddenly turn and retrace their 
way as if drawn by some unseen magnet. Now, if the bird does not 
take time to make himself acquainted with the first point, how can it 
be a landmark for time to come ? The same thing applies to all the 
other points to which he is taken. For the sake of argument let us 
allow that landmarks are] indispensable. What of the landmarks 
when the bird is carried in the course of his flight by strong winds 
many miles to the right or left, or to such a distance that even the 
eye of the Carrier cannot reach ? Were these birds to fly above our 
highways or railways we could understand the assertion that land¬ 
marks were indispensable ; but when their path is, as it were, in the 
sea, ever varying, never twice the same, I do not think landmarks 
are of any consequence. 
I have noticed Carriers returning from the northward when they 
should have come from the south. I account for this by strong 
winds having carried them beyond their home to the right or left, and 
I think this fact alone sets aside the question of landmarks. The 
Kev. Mr. Dixon, to whom I have alluded, seems to think that high 
grounds intervening are apt to make the birds lose their way. Now 
my birds that came from Herefordshire must have surmounted many 
very high hills—namely, the Westmoreland hills, unless, indeed, they 
were carried by high winds, east or west, nearer to the coast—still 
they reached the place of their birth safe and sound. How can this 
be accounted for ? Although I hold the old writers on ornithology 
in the highest respect, still I can see that too many of them are mere 
copyists. One touches a possible chord, and many others follow by 
striking the same strings. There is not that independence of thought 
which this theme deserves. 
I am told that on some parts of the continent keepers of the 
Carrier fly their birds during the night. This is worth inquiring into. 
If it is a fact—which I believe it to be—then the idea of landmarks 
is out of the question. But it will be asked, How do I account for 
the wonderful performances of the Carrier without the aid of land¬ 
marks ? My reply is, that I believe it to be all embraced in the four 
lines of the old poet— 
“ I hear a voice you cannot hear, 
Which says I must not stay; 
I see a hand you cannot see, 
Which beckons me away.” 
As to training, I believe the whole use of it amounts to giving the 
bird confidence and strength of wing, and I believe he will come 
from any other direction with the same precision as the one to which 
he has been trained. 
This subject seems to me to be one of vast importance both 
scientifically and commercially, and to deserve the attention not 
only of all Pigeon fanciers but also of scientific men. I invite all 
your readers to give their experience and ideas upon it. Surely it 
possesses an interest far above any other point connected with our 
pastime.— James Huie. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Profitable Ducks (B. E .).—Unless you have means of separating them 
you caunot keep more than one breed of Ducks pure. Aylesburys, Rouens, and 
Pekins are the three most suitable sorts. If you intend to rear ducklings for the 
early spring markets, the first-named will be best. Rouens are also good table 
birds, but do not come in so early. Pekins are perhaps the best layers of all, 
and although hardly so weighty on the average as the others, are easily reared, 
and make good table birds. If you mean to sell eggs for hatching, the Pekins 
will probably pay best, as they are a comparatively new sort and are fashionable 
at present. As regards egg-production much depends upon the laying qualities 
of the strain, so you should be careful to obtain information on this point, if 
possible, before purchasing your stock. 
Fowls Trespassing (F. Wood ).—It would be illegal to shoot them. Your 
neighbour is bound to keep his fowls from trespassing ; send him a written 
notice that if he do not restrain them you will sue him in the County Court for 
the amount of damage they do. Calvanised-iron netting, 2 feet high, ■without 
any bar at the top, placed above the wall would prevent the intrusion. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE,LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32-40" N.; Long. 0° 8-0" W.; Altitude.lll feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1881. 
• <3 
O) ci __ 
Hygrome- 
d . 
Shade Tern- 
Radiation 
d 
March. 
ter. 
£ d 
or* 
perature. 
Temperature. 
3 
£ 53 
££ 
In 
On 
April. 
MS a 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5 o 
ft 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 27 
29.907 
87.8 
33.5 
N.E. 
39.4 
45.7 
26.6 
89.0 
20.8 
— 
Mon. 28 
29.906 
38.3 
34.4 
N.E. 
39.0 
48.0 
28.6 
98.9 
243 
— 
Tues. 29 
29.750 
39.4 
35.6 
N.E. 
3/1 
55.8 
27.6 
101.4 
22.9 
— 
Wed. 30 
30.024 
41.0 
36.3 
Is’. 
39.8 
49.3 
26.4 
107.6 
22.3 
— 
Tliurs. 31 
30.022 
38.7 
34.6 
N.E. 
39.7 
47.6 
32.3 
100.7 
27.2 
— 
Friday 1 
29.791 
43.8 
40.2 
N.E. 
41 .0 
55.3 
33.2 
105.6 
25.6 
— 
S Rturi 2 
29.815 
45.3 
39.6 
N.E. 
41.5 
52.6 
37.6 
108.4 
34.3 
— 
Means. 
29.896 
40.6 
36.3 
89.8 
50.5 
30.3 
101.7 
25.3 
— 
REMARKS. 
27th.—Pine, very cold wind. 
28th.—Bright and cold. 
29th.—Still very bright and cold ; high wind latter part of the day. 
30th.—Very fine, dry, bright, and cold ; hazy first part of the morning. 
31st.—Cold, windy, and dusty ; bright sunshine, very dry air. 
1st.—Morning fine, hot sunshine; afternoon windy, much dust flying, very 
squally. 
2nd.—Bright sunshine, very high cold wind, much dust. 
Weather very dry with clear sky, very sharp frosts on grass at night, great 
daily range of temperature, much wind and dust.—G. J. Symons. 
