136 FANCIERS’ 
JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by Joseru M. 
WADE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 

a 
Ssonsy OURNAL AND 4 J OULTRY (J) XCHANGE, 
JOSEPH M. WADE, Editor and Proprietor. 
Published Weekly at 39 North Ninth Street, Philadelphia. 
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ADVERTISEMENTS 
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THE PIGEON POST OF THE PARIS PRESS. 
To us in America, with our regular press dispatches occu- 
pying special wires of their own, and so voluminous in 
amount that the main difficulty is the one of condensation, 
and with our special telegraphic correspondents sending news 
nightly from the chief cities, and finally with a system of de- 
livery which brings these dispatches speedily to the news- 
paper offices, the antique and clumsy device of a postal ser- 
vice by carrier pigeons seems rather amusing. Yet to this 
form of transmission of a part of their mails and correspond- 
ence, the Paris newspapers have been forced to come, sup- 
plying thereby the deficiencies of their telegraphic service. 
What is more, the Paris newspapers have so perfected this 
aerial mail service, that its results are surprising, and lead 
us to reflect whether we have so much reason for smiling at 
it after all. 
The chief postal pigeon line is established between Ver- 
sailles, where the assembly sits, and the faubourg Mont- 
matre in Paris. The Temps, reviewing the history of the 
subject, remarks thatthe pigeon post office proper is a recent 
invention. It has only been regularly organized since the 
beginning of this century, but the siege of Paris fully de- 
monstrated the important part that could be played by these 
precious little aerial carriers. Paris, however, was not the 
first city to make use of them even during an investment, 
for as early as 1849, during the siege of their city, the Vene- 
tians had employed pigeons to carry dispatches beyond the 
enemy’s lines. 
It is by cross-breeding and by education, continues the 
Temps, that bird fanciers have been enabled to produce pig- 
eons whose flight is of wonderful rapidity. One celebrated 
pigeon, the Gladiator, travelled from Toulouse to Brussels 
in asingle day. Itis calculated that, on an average, a well- 
trained pigeon flies at the rate of 3280 feet a minute, that 
is to say, almost forty miles an hour, and even this rapid 
flight is often surpassed by the fastest birds. It is true that 
atmospheric circumstances must always be taken into ac- 


count. The wind, the rain, and the snow are obstacles 
against which the force of these little aerial messengers often 
becomes exhausted. The most prized breeds are those of 
Liege, which are small, with bright eyes, and a short bill; 
the Irish, which are short and stumpy, and very strong, and 
the pigeons of Antwerp, standing high on their legs, with a 
big billand along neck. A cross-breeding of these three 
species is said to give the best results regarding memory, 
strength, and sight. 
On the same subject the Liberte remarks that the pigeon 
post service carried on between Versailles and Paris is so 
extensive that from thirty to forty pigeons are often sent 
out in a single day, especially if the weather is clear, and 
political events are sufficiently exciting. The startings take 
place as fust as required, demands for these messengers being 
principally made from two and a half to three o’cloek, and 
especially at the moment when the gun fires for the closing up 
of the governmental offices; for each paper must, of course 
take care to get its dispatches in season, lest some enterpris- 
ing rival should profit by the delay. Accordingly, the oper- 
ator, who launches the pigeons, places himself on the thresh- 
old, of a little tavern opposite the Cour ‘du Maroe, so that 
the reporters have only to cross the street and hand in their 
rapidly written news. The starter, who is a tall, broad- 
shouldered man, vigorously throws the birds into the air, 
one after the other, generally, to avoid delays, holding one 
bird ready in each hand. The pigeons, taking up the initial 
velocity they have thus received, fly rapidly in the direction 
of Paris. A considerable crowd, among which members of 
the Assembly do not disdain to appear, witnesses this spec- 
tacle, which is said to be by no means one of the least attrac- 
tive that life in Versailles offers. As the bird guides him- 
self by sight, the sky must be sufficiently clear, especially 
towards sunset, for the pigeons of the Paris press to see their 
way. The trying season is, therefore, the present one of 
short days and early dusk; and the little political couriers 
have to pierce through those fogs which are so heavy in late 
autumn and winter. It is added in this account that one 
thing is still wanting in this queer news service, namely, 
pigeons that fly by night. To our own morning newspaper 
press, this would be a pretty serious defect in the system. 

SECOND GRAND NATIONAL DOG SHOW. 
THE second of Col. Wood’s excellent exhibitions, em- 
bracing a large and varied assortment of canines, will be held 
at his popular museum, commencing Monday, March 16th, 
to continue one week. The great success attending the first 
grand display of these useful and valuable animals (Novem- 
ber, 1872), induced Col. Wood to repeat the dog fair, which 
will far excel in quantity and variety the first exhibition. 
Dogs of every nation have already been promised upon this 
oceasion, and the enterprising proprietor of the museum 
would not inappropriately term his great display, “Tux 
Wor.pd’s Dog SHow.’’ But we are informed that the ani- 
mals arriving from other nations will be on exhibition only, 
whilst the dogs of our own country will be entered «and 
classed for premiums, Col. Wood desiring to encourage the 
thorough breeding of good and useful animals. The pre- 
miums awarded to successful competitors will be elaborate, 
costly, and beautiful. Catalogues containing full descrip- 
tions of all varieties of the species Canis familiaris, and rules 
governing the exhibition, can be had by addressing Col. 
Wood’s Museum, this city. (See Advertisement.) 
