232 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 13, 1858. 
they will continue on the wing for an hour or two at a time ; 
and, after circling round their home for some time, they will 
start off, and take long circuits of a mile or two in extent; 
then returning, will take a tour in another direction. This is 
called “ going an end it is of great use to them, as well 
from the exercise it affords their muscles and wings as from 
keeping them in remembrance of their homing faculty. 
It is rarely advisable to train old Pigeons, as they do not 
often make proficients ; and in case of their coming within 
range of their old home, so that the almost forgotten at¬ 
traction overcomes that of their more distant and recent love, 
they will not unfrequently hasten there, and sometimes 
remain. 
Young birds should be trained as soon as they fly strong 
at home. The training consists in taking them, at first, short 
distances from home, in various directions, and turning them 
loose, to find their way home; gradually increasing the dis¬ 
tance, till they can at last perform long journeys. Great 
care is necessary to keep them in continual practice, as also 
in good flying condition,—strong, healthy, and clean, by 
means of good food and plenty of exercise; otherwise they 
may one day be missing, although they may have performed 
the same distance before. It must also be borne in mind, 
that the Pigeons should be properly conveyed to the place of 
starting,—not cramped, or with their plumage soiled or 
rumpled. Neither should a Pigeon be turned off with its 
crop too full, nor yet fasting, or it may be fatigued by the 
weight of its crop, or faint from weakness. The wilder a 
Pigeon is, the better chance, I think, it has of returning. It 
is generally considered that a cock homes fastest when driving 
to nest, and a hen when feeding young squabs; such times 
being preferred for flying night matches. 
The way of sending a despatch, or attaching the letter, is 
simply to write that which it is desired to communicate on a 
small piece of light paper,—say about three or four inches 
square. This is rolled up about the size of a goose-quill, and 
laid between two of the tail feathers, where it is secured by 
means of a piece of fine binding wire, which is pushed into 
one or both the shafts of the feathers. Their vanes are then 
wrapped about the paper by twisting the wire round and 
round, so that the Pigeon carries it without being in the 
least inconvenienced in its flight. Some persons, I believe, 
wind the paper round the shank of the foot, or leg, and fasten 
it with worsted. 
Pigeons on their journey are, however, liable to many acci¬ 
dents,—such as being shot, or killed by birds of prey; fatigue, 
owing to adverse winds or storms; or from injuries, consequent 
on rough or careless handling; or even from fogs. Thus, for 
safety, several are often despatched with the same message; 
or, to prevent deciphering, the communication may be written 
in private characters previously agreed to. Most Pigeons, 
when let off (“tossed”) for homing, circle round several 
times, rising to a good height in the air, and then fly off in 
the direction of their home. The better ones make but few 
turns before shaping their course, and the pure Antweps dart 
off in a line from the hand, and rarely make but one sweep 
for home. 
It is generally believed that Pigeons find their way home 
by sight. This I consider an error; for it must be impossible 
for a Pigeon to discern its home at the distance of some 
hundred miles. Nor do I believe the reasoning and calcu¬ 
lating powers of the Pigeon to be of such high order as to 
enable them to form private charts of such an extent of 
country, that they may fly by waymarks, as some have 
fancied. I believe it to be a natural faculty, or sense, im¬ 
planted in them by the Almighty Creator, purposely to guide 
them to their homes ; for have not the bee, the dog, the 
horse, and some other animals, the same faculty ? 
My opinion is, that it is a natural affinity, or attraction, that 
draws them homewards, and inclines them to take the direct 
line, and that by practice and cultivation this faculty is 
greatly increased and strengthened. I am, also, much in¬ 
clined to believe, that if Pigeons are well trained for several 
successive generations, that the young ones have this faculty 
almost, as it were, by inheritance. Some breeds possess it in a 
higher degree than others, and even some individuals of the 
same family are superior to their brethren. 
A high range of hills, or a fog, or mist, intervening between 
the I igeon and its home, will so intercept, or interrupt, this 
attraction, or affinity, as to weaken, or alter, its effect, on the 
feelings or sensibilities of the bird, and cause it to swerve from 
the direct course, or even so puzzle the individual as to cause 
it to be lost, which may account for some Pigeons being oc¬ 
casionally lost under such circumstances. Notwithstanding 
which, the London Pigeons, which are used to a foggy state of 
the atmosphere, are enabled to find their way through it; but 
it would then be impossible for them to see their home, or dis¬ 
cern their waymarks, if they had any, at a very short distance. 
Besides, night matches could not be flown, if sight were their 
sole guide, for then they could not return in the dark. 
I have had my Dragoons come home when it was quite 
dark, when flown late. Yet no one, who has seen the attempts 
of Pigeons to settle at night, when they had been disturbed, 
but must acknowledge, that, though the bird can make good 
use of its wings, it cannot see much in the dark. 
Pigeons have been known to return to places where they have 
been kept, though they had no knowledge of the neighbour¬ 
hood. Neither do they search for another place when their 
abode is covered with snow, which suddenly entirely changes 
the appearance of their home; and this they would be likely 
to do, if sight were the medium through which they knew it. 
A few bad-flying fancy Pigeons being frightened by the (to 
them) novel appearance, may become bewildered and lost; but 
this does not prove anything. 
Pigeons, when homing, will sometimes fly past their homes, 
which is a curious fact, termed “ over flying themselves.” The 
Antwerps, I am informed, are liable to do so in short journeys. 
I have seen Pigeons, in coming home, pass their abodes, and 
then, as if the attraction was reversed, turn round and descend, 
which would not be likely if they flew by sight. 
Many other facts might be collected, to prove that sight is 
not the main agent by which Pigeons return to their homes. 
Sight, undoubtedly, assists them in their manner of flying, 
as to height, to avoid objects and enemies, as well as in settling 
and finding the entrance to their house ; otherwise, I believe, 
a Pigeon might be flown blindfolded. Erom long experience, 
and careful study of the case, I feel convinced, and have no 
hesitation in saying, that the power the Pigeon has of return¬ 
ing to its home, from places where it has never been before, 
arises from a natural attraction, or affinity, existing between 
the birds and its horns, or, in other words, home is to the 
Pigeon what the north pole is to the compasss. 
The box, or basket, in which Pigeons are sent a distance in, 
to be tossed or let off, is so constructed that each is kept 
separate ; it may be from six to eight inches deep, and ten or 
twelve inches broad ; the length will depend on the number 
of compartments. These may be five inches broad in front, 
and may either be made straight, or the partitions may be put 
in obliquely, leaving only one inch width at the tail end, the 
wide end of the open spaces coming alternately. Thus, the 
Pigeons are placed in it alternately, head to tail, side by side, 
by which arrangement much space is economised. The lid is 
made in pieces, or so jointed, that only one bird may be let 
out at a time. A stout leather strap passes over all, and is 
secured by a buckle or padlock. The boxes should have an 
air-hole above the head of each Pigeon, as well as in the front 
end of each compartment. The bottom of the box, or basket, 
should be strewn with chaff, to keep their flights and tails 
clean and dry. In this way. Pigeons may be safely sent 
for long distances ; carrying in the hand cramps the birds, 
and causes diarrhoea; crowding in a bag, or basket, soils 
their tails and wings, while the pocket is equally objectionable. 
. Bbent. (2b continued .) 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Bjrds Purchased after Entry. —Thei’e is a point in poultry ex- 
minting, on which different poultry breeders have very different 
opinions. It it is this:—If a person enters a pen of birds for a Show, and 
the entries have closed, but before the Show, he purchases other 
birds, has he a right to show them in the place of those he actually 
entered ? Your opinion, or that of any other person who can solve 
the question, will greatly oblige.— One Wavering between two 
Opinions. 
[We have no doubt upon the subject. If the birds purchased after 
the entry are long enough in the purchaser’s possession, to satisfy the 
rules of the Exhibition and the description in the entry paper, the pur¬ 
chaser might exhibit them, in the place of those which he possessed at 
the time he made the entry. No one is deceived. It is not like enter¬ 
ing a named horse for a race, and substituting another at the time of 
the contest.] 
