12 
THE RUNT. 
The “Runt is the giant among pigeons. It is very highly spoken of 
by some breeders because the squabs are so large, but the number of 
squabs is small. It takes an extra good pair of Runts to yield four 
pairs of squabs a year. 
While crossing with 
Homer blood will in¬ 
crease the number of 
squabs, the tendency 
of the squabs of such 
mixed blood to be 
dark in flesh is so se¬ 
rious a disadvantage 
that I can not recom¬ 
mend them, for the 
novice will soon learn 
that dark-fleshed 
squabs are cut in price 
when he takes them to 
market. I find that 
even one-quarter of 
Runt blood is often 
sufficient to make 
dark squabs. Other 
objections to this va¬ 
riety are that both 
parents and squabs 
consume more food 
than Homers and they 
are less active and 
Fig. 8. —Blue Dragoon pigeon. slowei ill dliving. 
LESSONS FROM OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCE. 
In traveling about the country and visiting many squab farms, 1 
seldom find a flock of straight Homers, but frequently see all kinds 
mixed together, with no apparent system or purpose on the part of 
the breeder, the evident desire being to raise, if possible, a few squabs. 
I have made the proper kinds of birds for squab growing my study' 
for the last five years, visiting many different places during this period. 
My experience, not only from my own pens, but from this extended 
observation, teaches me that for profitable squab growing there is 
nothing equal to the straight Homer. 
About ten years ago a gentleman advertised for sale a lot of pigeons. 
I visited him and found about 200 pairs in an old corn crib. I picked 
177 
