IT he Pigeon. 
It would be useless to assign a reason why one par- 
ticular breed out of so many species should alone pos¬ 
sess the peculiar Knowledge and instinct of the Carrier, 
We must content ourselves without diving too far into 
the hidden mysteries of nature, and ascribe that won¬ 
derful facility to the same Power that guides the swal¬ 
low and other birds of passage across the waters of the 
Atlantic to our shores, or conducts them, each succeed¬ 
ing spring, to the same spot where for previous sea¬ 
sons they have reared their young. 
Tumblers by their flight are a source of great enjoy¬ 
ment to the fanciers, for in addition to their tumbling 
they will rise to so great a height in the air as to ap¬ 
pear like a speck, or become altogether imperceptible. 
If of a good kind, and well familiarized to one another, 
they will in their flight keep in so close company that 
a dozen of them may be covered with a handkerchief. 
If the weather be fine and clear, they will keep upon 
the wing for four or five hours at a time, the favorite 
set seldom or never tumbling except when about to 
rise, or when coming down to pitch. 
Tumblers show in their plumage an endless variega¬ 
tion of shade—reds, yellows, blues, duns, blacks, 
whites, and silvers. No expense should be spared at 
first for the purchase of two or more birds accustomed 
to very high flying, as they will be of infinite use after¬ 
wards, in teaching the young ones to be lofty soarers. 
After the pigeons have been accustomed to their habi¬ 
tations, they should be turned out only once a day in 
a clear grey morning, when there is neither mist nor 
wind, taking care to spread out for them on their re¬ 
turn a plentiful repast of rape or canary seed, to entice 
them home, and afterwards shutting them up for the 
rest of the day. They should, for an obvious reason, 
be closely confined when with egg. 
The Carrier was called by some of the old fanciei'3, 
the King of Pigeons. It is remarkable for the fleshy 
protuberance called the wattle on the lower part of the 
head. These triple properties have been enumerated 
as indicative of its excellence—three in the head, three 
in the eye, three in the wattle, and three in the beak. 
The head should be flat, straight, and long; the eye 
broad, circular, and uniform; the wattle broad across 
the beak, short from the head to the bill, and leaning 
forward; the beak long, straight, and thick. Pigeon 
joekeyship sometimes has attempted to imitate these 
qualities artificially, and to palm upon the inexperienc¬ 
ed inferior birds at the price of the best. The length 
and thinness of the neck are marks of its elegance. 
The Horseman is supposed to be a bastard between 
the Tumbler and Carrier; they are chiefly used at pre¬ 
sent for deciding bets, and carrying letters, the pure 
Carrier being so exceedingly scarce. 
Dragoons were originally bred between the Horse¬ 
man and Carrier.; they are very strong and useful 
birds; being prolific breeders, and good nurses, they 
are frequently kept as feeders to rear young Pouters, 
Leghorn runts, &c. For a distance of fifteen or twen¬ 
ty miles, the Dragoon is said to be more rapid than the 
Horseman, but cannot keep up its superiority in a 
longer flight. 
Toho, in the New Sporting Magazine for June, 1839, 
says: 
“ The first property of a Carrier is the length of 
their flight or wing feathers, and the distance or length 
from the base of the bill to the end, which should al¬ 
ways taper gradually. The color is the next, and 
though fanciers disagree on this point, I prefer a blue 
to any other, as I have generally found them hardier 
and swifter than the blacks or duns, but, like dogs, 
good pigeons are to be found of all colors. Firmness 
of feather always indicates a good constitution. The 
age may be guessed by the size of the wattle, and the 
heavy appearance of the bird. 
<£ The Antwerps are a later introduction into this 
country, and their name bespeaks their origin. I be¬ 
lieve little was known of them before the famous Ant¬ 
werp match in July, 1830, when 110 birds were tossed 
from the yard of a noted fancier in the Borough. The 
first bird reached Antwerp, a distance of 186 miles, in 
five hours and a half, and gained the gold medal; out 
of the 110, about 100 reached home. To the eye of 
any one who has been solely accustomed to the Eng¬ 
lish Carrier, they possess but little recommendation, 
but the fancier soon detects the points of speed and 
beauty, in the fine and lengthy shape of the bird. They 
are of many colors, but I have found none better than 
the nearly reds and blues. This bird, in my opinion, 
is equal to the Horseman in sagacity and speed, and 
altogether, I prefer them to any other kind. 
The pigeon loft should always, if possible, face the 
west or south, be high and roomy, with railed pens to 
shut in birds for matching in the spring, or other pur¬ 
poses, kept well lime-washed, which will both destroy 
the insects, and keep it cool, and it should be repeated¬ 
ly cleaned out. A glass tile or two in the roof, if it is 
a slanting one, will be useful to light the loft. 
“ There must be a railed trap projecting in front, so 
that the birds may go out from the loft, and the front 
of the trap will let down and pull up, by means of a 
spring inside. This is the dormer, and in most large 
lofts is out of the top of the roof. When the trap is 
shut, the birds will come in at the wires, which open 
inwards to the loft, on a pivot, which is called the bolt¬ 
ing wire. 
“ After they have become well accustomed to the loft, 
and are able to keep pretty well with the flight, take 
them about half a mile from the loft in a bag made of 
coarse canvass, to hold two birds, with a little straw, 
and toss them; repeat the same distance for a few 
days, and gradually increase it up to five miles. After 
this they are pretty perfect, and two or three miles 
may be added to the distance every day. If your loft 
be near a high road, a great advantage will be found 
by giving the birds to the coachmen to toss. There 
are many ways of marking birds. I generally make 
a little notch in the beak or between the toes, in the 
same manner as game fowls. A little stamp with the 
initials of the name, to mark them in red on the tail 
and pinion feathers, will be useful till the birds moult. 
In tossing a bird, always clear its wings and feet, and 
holding it round the body and legs with one hand, 
throw it well up,—never near any trees, as the young 
ones will frequently perch and there remain. 
“ The speed of the Carrier has perhaps never been as¬ 
certained. I have had them come seven miles, by the 
road, in five minutes, and forty miles in the hour is ge 
nerally done; but too much depends upon circumstan 
ces to give any opinion. 
“ If a bird is going to do a large distance, it should 
never be over-fed the night previous, but shut up in a 
dark pen. If possible, choose a clear day for tossing, 
for nothing beats pigeons like wind and fog. A real 
Carrier will seldom stop till he reaches home. If they 
are regularly flown, well fed and watered, and kept 
clean, few diseases will be known in the loft. Let 
them have a large tin pan to wash in, change the 
water every day, and a lump of salt to peck at. 
“ The canker in the wattle is their worst disease, and 
frequently arises from dirt or from the birds fighting. 
The best cure is a piece of bitter aloes of the size of a 
.pea, given inwardly, and the day after wash the wat¬ 
tle with warm water, and in the evening wash the sore 
with lead ammoniac and burnt alum, mixed with lemon 
