Gomristene__ 12S COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: The National Standard Squab Book ELMER C. RICE. The National Standard Squab Book By Ermer C. Rice A PRACTICAL MANUAL GIVING COMPLETE AND PRECISE DIREC- TIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A _ SUC- CIESSI WIL, SOWA IPIGZUNIS lcs) FROM EXPERIENCES OF MANY HOW TO MAKE A PIGEON AND SQUAB BUSINESS PAY, DETAILS OF BUILDING, BUYING, HABITS OF BIRDS, MATING, WATERING, FEEDING, KILLING, COOL- ING, MARKETING, SHIPPING, CURING AILMENTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION Illustrated with New Sketches and Half Tone Plates from Photographs Specially Made for this Work BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1908 —— = [uisriany of GONGRESS| 4} Two Goples Receives ! JAN 14 1908 Bg enyy o GOU) Copyright: 1901, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1902, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1903, by E-mer C. Rice Copyright, 1904, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1905, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1906, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1907, by Elmer C. Rice Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice Ajl rights reserved. A WELL-BUILT NEST. Press of Murray and Emery Company Boston, Mass Preface Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. _ Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI. Chapter XII. Supplement Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E GO NT i iN ITS Squabs Pay An Easy Start The Unit House Nest Bowls and Nests Water and Feed Laying and Hatching Increase of Flock Killing and Cooling The Markets Pigeons’ Ailments Getting Ahead Questions and Answers IE IG ION Sy AL IRS AN TIL) INES) Page Portrait of the Author (¥ronrtisniece). .. AUWiell-BullteNestmmneime comin nce 8 ANON ORAS) Sad ooGoacescouaue bane 14 How a Back Yard may be Fixed for PAE COMSE stances sence ns cence abel eae atenremene es eee 18 Cheap but Practical Nest Boxes...... 22 How City Dwellers without Land may BreediSqualbstne sss ese. 24 Unit Squab House Guan Passaceran) yal Ibias ION, coscdo don connsoeae 26 Nest Boxes Built of Lumber.......... 28 Best Nest Box Construction.......... 30 Interior of Squab House Showing REE CHES ici sensrauaiancet hon Get aa cuore 32 A Pretty Squab House and Flying Pen. 36 WM foUhinjole Whats IIOWIEO. oocccscocouvn sas 38 Interior of Multiple Unit House....... 40 Multiple Unit House, Ten Units, Built ACCOLGINeAOROUTe Elan Seine ene 42 Nest Bowl, Bath Pan, Drinking Foun- TENT, CnC 5 sooo 56 46 Berry Crate to Hold esis Mewes. 50 Scenes on the $200,000 Farm of Ome Oi Oie CWSIOUNES, oob6ccencocoscuc 58 Eggs in the Nest, Squabs Just Hatched. 64 Squabs One Week Old, Squabs Two WEEKS Ol Cie Ses orer listo coy aiaschoueretonens 66 Squabs Three Weeks Old, Squabs Four WieekKSiOldiee. Sie ae coe en hus arr naetnas 68 The Mating Coop.. ates PaO. Pigeons in St. Mark’s 3 Sauer, Vena. 74 Killing Squabs with the Hands....... 80 Killed Squabs Hung to Cool.......... 82 Three Dressed Squabs............... 86 Squab House Built of Logs........... 88 ]2eyie Git Jal@imaers| IBUUNIME, ooo co oc nooar 90 HoWwaWwelshipseeiceonsssse eens Selfheedenm tor Grain eee ereriaee 108 Machine for Killing Squabs.......... 114 SDIAVCL Ms tye ers avatars incrrare sens tee 116 INEST MB ORCS ray sic eyeretstienera ts is wii va Rt oR 117 Mating Coopsin Mating House........ 134 Page Pigeons in Corner of Flying Pen...... 138 Interior of Mating House............. 142 Part of South Side of One of Our FIOUSES) 9c) 2 ious els 2 See oe oe 146 Dowel System of Feeding and Watering 150 Pigeons Bathineeiersleecn iene een 152 Ib einige tiroin JN So og bono aa scon assoc 188 Letter from W. R. McLaughlin........ 190 Letter from Heineman & Co.......... 192 Extra Plymouth Rock Homers........ 194 A Good Looking Illinois Plant........ 196 Showing Construction in Florida...... 198 Homer Hen Sitting on Eggs........ 199 Lighted by Electricity and Heated by Steamse esis ce hostess vo noe coe ee ee 200 Ona Poleat Top of Flying Pen........ 202 Cheapest Possible Construction....... 204 The Start wasese oko aoe eee 206 SEMIShCUStOMEr*| <-ha ccc eee ene 206 Beautiful Pair of Splashes............ 207 Plymouth Rock Blue Bars and Blue Checkers: Svinte eee 208 Ona Running Boardinthe Sun....... 209 Interior of Massachusetts Customer’s FT OUSOS 5/5 cis ece'Sisve. ale ocae Cae een 210 Women Enjoy Squab Raising......... 211 At the Back ofa Barn... 5... -).eo-eeoue Shipshape Flying Pen................ 213 Nest of Straw and Feathers.......... 214 Different: Sizesis..i. osc Sateen 215 An Inexpensive Start................ 216 ACROW_OL BeautieS.. seen nen 217 Hatiniestromeelis sean dip eee 218 Read yto Kalle ..eis os Sel eee 219 SCORE ays; 25) IDeA ONGl csaccescrccccece 220 Tn the SOW: wiccsnp es oc eee 221 Squabs Three Weeks Old............. 222 Squabs Twelve Days Old..........-..- 223 Squabs a Few Days Old.............. 224 Nest of Tobacco Stems.............. 225 Raised from Plymouth Rock Extras... 226 CarNea ex 35.6). s 8 ae eee ee eee PREFACE. This Manual or Handbook on Squabs is written to teach people, beginners mostly, not merely how to raise squabs, but how to conduct a squab and pigeon business successfully. We have found breeders of squabs who knew how to raise them fairly well and took pleasure in doing so, but were weak on the business end of the industry. The fancier, who raises animals because he likes their looks or their actions, or because he hopes to beat some other fancier at an exhibition, is not the man for whom we have written this book. We have developed Homer pigeons and the Homer pigeon industry solely because they are staples, and the squabs they produce are staples, salable in any market at a remunerative price. The success of squabs as we exploit them depends on their earning capacity. They are a matter of business. Our development of squabs is based on the fact that they are good eating, that people now are in the habit of asking for and eating them, that there is a large traffic in them which may be pushed to an enormous extent without weakening either the market or the price. If, as happens in this case, pigeons are a beautiful pet stock as well as money makers, so much the better, but we never would breed anything not useful, salable merely as pets. It is just as easy to pet a practical animal as an impractical animal, and much more satisfying. This Manual is the latest and most comprehensive work we have done, giving the results of our experience as fully and accurately as we can present the subject. It is intended as an answer to the hundreds of letters we receive, and we have tried to cover every point which a beginner or an expert needs to know. It is a fault of writers of most guide books like this to leave out points which they think are too trivial, or ‘““ which everybody ought to know.” It has been our experi- ence in handling this subject and bringing it home to people that the little points are the ones on which they most quickly go astray, and on which they wish the fullest information. After they have a fair start, they are able to think out their operations for themselves. Accordingly -we have covered 11 12 NATTONAE SHAND AKDT SO OAS 5,0 One every point in this book in simple language and if the details in some places appear too commonplace, remember that we have erred on the side of plainness. The customers to whom we have sold breeding stock have been of great help to us in arranging and presenting these facts. We asked them to tell us just the points they wished ° covered, or covered more fully, or just where our writings were weak. They replied in a most kindly way, nearly every letter thanking us heartily, and brimming over with enthus- iasm for the squab industry. It has surprised a great many people to learn that Homer pigeons are such a staple and workable article. They have been handled by the old methods for years without their great utility being made plain. When we first learned about squabs, we were struck by the impressive fact that here was something which grew to market size in the incredible time of four weeks and then was marketed readily at a good profit. The spread of that knowledge will make money for you. Show your neighbors the birds you buy of us, tell them the facts, and perhaps give them a squab to eat, then you will find a quick call for all the live breeders you can supply. The procedure which we advise in this National Standard Squab Book is safe and sound, demonstrated to be successful by hundreds of our customers, many of whom started with no knowledge except what we were able to give them by letter or word of mouth. We have abandoned all instruction which does not stand the test of time and locality, and give only facts of proven value, of real, practical experience. ELMER C. RICE. Boston, August, 1902. POSTSCRIPT. This work has met with so much favor during the past year, and has sold so largely in excess of expectations, that we wish to thank our friends everywhere for their cordial support. The Appendix A which appears at the back of this edition was added last February, and it is our intention to keep the work up to date by revisions and additions at least twice yearly, The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the PREFACE 13 proof of these squab teachings is shown in the successes made by our thousands of customers with no other knowledge of squabs than this as a guide. Our correspondence, now having extended over a long period, shows conclusively that beginners find all questions answered in this book, and go forward confidently and surely to success. ee Cake Boston, August, 1903. 1907 EDITION. The old plates of this book have been fairly worn out by much printing, so great has been the demand for it, especially during the past five years. The sales have been larger than for any other work on birds or animals ever written. For this 1907 edition, the whole book has been reset in new type, and new plates made. The outlook for the squab industry during 1907 andthe years to come is of high promise. More people are eating squabs than ever before and more people are raising them. At no time within our memory has the market been over- stocked with squabs, and prices have kept up all along the -line. Only yesterday we were visited by a gentleman and his niece from New York City who stated that they had priced squabs there December 31 and found them seven dollars and fifty cents a dozen. The dealers who offered them at this price had paid the breeders for them from four dollars to six dollars a dozen, according to their postal card quotations sent out in December. We shall be pleased to hear from our friends after they have read this book, and welcome any suggestions for its improve- ment, or for the betterment of the squab industry. The author will gladly answer all such letters and advise fully as to location and construction of buildings, and management of breeding stock. 1D, Ge IR: Boston, January, 1907, EDS. HBR THOROUG 14 CHAPTER I. SQUABS PAY. Experience of a Customer who Started in January, 1902, Erected a Plant Worth Three Thousand Dollars and Made Money Almost from the Start—Settlements of Squab Breeders in Iowa, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania— Large Incomes Made from Pigeons—Squab Plants Known to be Making Money—The Hard-Working Farmer and the Easy-Working Squab Raiser—No Occupation for a Drone— No Exaggeration. “Will it pay me to raise squabs?’’ is the first question which the beginner asks. We take the case of a man who bought a Manual in January, 1902. His boys had kept a few pigeons but had never handled them in a commercial way, nor tried to make any money with them. The reading of the book gave him the first real light on the squab industry. Possibly he was more ready to believe because he knew from his own personal experience that a squab grows to market size in four weeks and is then readily marketable. He started at once to build a squab house according to the directions given. The ground was too hard for him to get a pickaxe into, so he laid the foundation timbers on bricks, rushed the work ahead with the help of good carpenters and sent on his order for breeding stock. In the course of a few weeks he ordered a second lot of breeders, followed by a third and a fourth, and he kept adding new buildings. When spring came and the ground softened, he jacked up his first squab house, took out the bricks at the four corners and put in cedar posts. By the middle of July he had five handsome squab houses and flying pens, all built by skilled labor in the best possible style at a cost of at least three hundred dollars apiece. With his buildings and their fittings and his birds, his plant repre- sented an expenditure of between two thousand and three thousand dollars. This gentleman lives in a locality where he had to put up nice- looking buildings, or the neighbors would have complained. He spent probably three times more money on his buildings 15 MG NBII OUN UE, SIIB INIOLAIRID. SQHULAUIE: 15 QO) ie than the average beginner would spend. He is a superin- tendent of a large manufacturing plant, a man of push and energy, and he has four young boys in his family who have helped with the wife and grandfather to make the venture successful. It was a paying venture almost from the very start. Everything that we wrote about squabs as money makers came true in his case. One of the sons, a lad of nine- teen, came on to see us the first summer and told us the story of their success. He was after more breeding stock. He said he had many calls from people who wished to buy stock of him, and he was unable to supply all of them, but he did not intend to have money offered him very long without being able to pass out the birds. In other words, they were going into squabs for all they were worth. They had not done any advertising, and had not sold live breeders to any extent, but figured their profits solely on the sale of squabs to com- mission houses, and they were getting for them just what we said the commission men would pay. We have a great many visitors, some coming from remote points of the United States. One of our visitors in the summer of 1902 was Mr. A. L. Furlong, from a little town in Iowa. Mr. Furlong said to us: “ lowa is quite a squab breeding State. There are plants in Ruthven, Osage, Wallake and Estherville. The owner of a plant in Ruthven I know very well. He showed me his account books; he was shipping from seven hundred to eight hundred dollars worth of squabs last month. He is making a profit of three thousand to five thousand dollars a year. He ships to the Chicago market, as do nearly all the Iowa breeders. He never gets less than two dollars and fifty cents a dozen for his squabs. I am going to start raising squabs myself.” Mr. Furlong left an order for one of our Manuals, having given his first one to his friend. He said that his friend was breeding common pigeons and would like to know our methods. We discarded common pigeons some time ago. If our lowa friends will use Homer pigeons instead of common ones, they will produce a much better squab and make more money. We had a curious confirmation of the abovein August, 1902, when Mr. E. H. Grice, who lives in the northern part of Vermont, visited us. Mr. Grice had just returned from a visit to the West, and stopped for a while at Ruthven, lowa, where SQ WAUIES IPA VY 17 he saw the plant above noted. The proprietor referred Mr. Grice to us and advised him to start with Homer pigeons, saying that, if he were to stock up again, it would be with Homer instead of the common pigeons. Before leaving, Mr. Grice gave us an order for one hundred pairs of our Homers. The number of orders for breeding stock which we have received from Iowa is out of proportion to any State near it, showing that these squab plants are known throughout Iowa to be making money. The same is true of California. We visited many squab breeders in eastern States in June, 1902, noting the buildings and methods and finding out from them if they were satisfied with the financial returns. All were enthusiastic and said it was easy work, that squabs beat hens easily and were much less care. The methods of some of these breeders were extremely crude, the birds nesting in old boxes of all sizes nailed to the walls of the squab houses, and apparently never being cleaned. The Homers were small, not being able to raise squabs weighing over seven pounds to the dozen. Somebody has said that a squab plant of one thousand pairs of birds will pay better than a farm. The contrast between the hard, grinding toil of the man who works a large farm and the “ standing around ”’ of the owner of a squab plant is indeed a Striking one. However, we do not speak of this to give you the idea that money is going to flow into your lap just because you buy some squab breeders of us. It is no work for a drone or a “ get-rich-quick ’’ person whose enthusiasm runs riot for two weeks and then cools off. Our class of trade is men and women of experience and reliable common sense who have a knowledge of the world and understand that things come by work and not for the asking. The people who are able and willing to pay us from fifty to five hundred dollars for a breeding outfit, as hundreds do, are not caught by glittering promises, but-have money laid by through exercise of the qualities of ability and shrewdness. The naturally careless, improvident person, who is generally in debt, should not start squab raising. It is a sensible industry for sensible people. The profits to be made with squabs vary with the individual and with the management of the birds, exactly as with poul- trv. It is important to have only mated or even pairs in the pens and all birds not producing should be kept in a separate ‘SSNOHDId YOU GAXI aa AVW GUVA MOVE V MOH o be +, ie ee 18 SQUABS- PAY Ig) pen and removed to breeding quarters only after they have gone to work. The chief difficulty with a beginner is the matter of sex. The male and the female pigeon have no marks to distinguish them, and the beginner must determine their sex by observation. He must study his birds and come to know them. Some beginners will not equip themselves by study and observation to make a success and may breed in a hap-hazard fashion for a year or more without knowing the sex of the birds they raise. Birds which you raise will go to work more quickly, look better and breed better than any birds you can buy, because that is the temperament of the Homer, to be attached to his home, to love it, and to try to reach it if he can. Anybody who has doubts as to his ability to raise squabs should start with a small flock and breed up until he has acquired skill and experience. As part of this Manual, in the supplement and appendices, we print many letters from customers who started with small flocks and won striking successes. It is not necessary to get a fancy price for the squabs to make the business a success. In confirmation of this we have in mind the work of two of our customers, young men named Lunn, who have received only two dollars to three dollars a dozen for their squabs, selling to dealers who retail them for four dollars to six dollars a dozen. These brothers have told their story in one of the poultry papers as follows: “In February, 1905, we got the idea of going into the squab business. We spent some time looking around and in March, 1905, we bought what we thought was the best stock, namely, the Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. We bought twelve pairs. The birds arrived on March 22, 1905, and were as fine a looking lot of birds as we had seen anywhere. We now (December, 1906) have three hundred pairs. One hundred and fifty pairs are well mated and working. The other one - hundred and fifty pairs are all young birds. We raised all our young birds up until September, 1906, and since then have been selling squabs weighing from nine and one-quarter to ten and one-half pounds and receive twenty-three and twenty-five cents each. We feed the best of grain, using cracked corn, kaffir corn, red wheat, buckwheat and peas and alittle hemp. We also give a little rice once or twice a week. During the moulting season we added barley to regular PU IN AIBMOUN IE SI AINTON SID SOU AUs: JBIOOIUE rations, which was a great help to the birds all that time. We use the self-feeder as described by Mr. Rice in his Manual and we find with it the grain is always clean. We have made the feeding question one of the most important of all and find that the best results are obtained by keeping plenty of grain and good clean drinking water before the birds at all times. The drinking fountains used are automatic and are scalded once each week. About once a week we give a teaspoonful of gentian to a gallon of water. We keep fresh water in the flying pens for bathing purpose at all times during the summer, and in the winter we allow our birds to bathe twice a week at noontime. One thing that is very essential with pigeons is to be kept clean. Our houses and nests are cleaned every week and we also spray the floors, nests and walk with a liquid disinfectant. We have never been troubled with lice, vermin or any disease of any kind. For nesting material we use tobacco stems, cutting them into pieces of about six inches, which we consider the best material for the purpose, and also a safeguard against lice. We feel satisfied with what our birds are doing and have done in the past, so well satisfied, in fact, that we have now under construction build- ings that will accommodate nearly one thousand pairs of birds. And the cost of keeping or feeding will not exceed one dollar a year per pair, so that squabs selling from two dollars to three dollars per dozen are sure to leave.a good profit.” Looking at the financial showing of the Lunn boys, made in twenty-two months, we find that starting with twelve pairs, for which they paid us thirty dollars, they raised three hundred pairs, worth at the same rate seven hundred and fifty dollars. From this must be deducted the grain which they bought in that period. They start the new year with a fine plant capable of earning a big percentage of profit on its valuation. CHUMP INI Il AN EASY START. No Special Form of Building Necessary— Points to Remember —Shelter Adapted to the Climate—How to Use a Building which you Now Have—Squab House and Flying Pen— Lining the Squab House with Nests— Use of Egg Crates— How to Put up the Perches—Difference between the Nest Box, Nest Pan and Nest— How to Tell How Many Pigeons can Occupy a Certain Building—A Large Flock of Pigeons 1s Easily Cared for when Split up into Small Flocks— How to Use Your Time to Best Advantage. Do not get the idea that any special form of building is necessary to raise squabs. We will tell you how to put up a structure that will make your work easier for you, and enable you to handle a big flock fast and accurately, but pigeons will work in almost any place, if it is free from rats, darkness and the musty dampness which goes with darkness. Any building, whether a woodshed, a corn crib, a barn, an outhouse of any description, or even a hog pen, can be made a successful home for pigeons with a little work. The points to remember are these, first, that the building be on fairly level, sunny ground; second, that it be raised from the ground so that rats cannot breed under it out of sight and reach; third, that it ought to be fairly tight, so as to keep out rain and excessive cold. Pigeons ought to have sunlight and fresh air, like any other animal, and need protection from the elements. — In practice, therefore, most squab houses are found raised on posts a foot or two feet off the ground; they face the south (here in New England) because most of our bitter weather comes from the north and east. If you live in a State, territory or foreign country where conditions are different, adapt your squab houses to those conditions. In some localities, the fierce weather comes from the south and west, in which case your squab house should face the north or east. Here in New England we build a tight house to withstand 21 —a MMM $A = aa ‘NT eZ ZZ | / WM] ZZ Mf Wf ——— ALPS == ——S — ———— — Hf ; l ae SS | mwa, AQ, AAA im LZ Z| Lom, Ny a —————— ————— =~ CHEAP BUT PRACTICAL NEST BOXES. These are empty egg crates piled one atop another from floor to roof of squab house. Each egg crate is two feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep. The partition in the middle makes two nest boxes, each one foot square. Into each of these nest boxes a wood nest bowl is placed. The birds build their nests in these wood nest bowls. iw) iS) AUN IBS 7 SI AURTE 23 the cold winters, but in the South the buildings are more open. Be guided by what you see around you in the place where you live. If the houses used by your friends and neighbors for hens and chickens are tight and warm, make your squab house tight and warm. It would be foolish for you, for example, if you live in Texas, to build a strong, tight, close squab house, for in that latitude, in a henhouse built tight and close, vermin would swarm and harass the chicks, and they would harass the squabs just as fast. Some of our customers write from places like Oregon and Idaho, where there is a wet and a dry season, and are puzzled to know what to do. In such cases we say, arrange your buildings as you see poultry houses arranged. The pigeons will do as well under the same conditions as hens and chickens. Suppose you have a vacant building or shack of any kind in which you wish to raise squabs. We will take for granted that it has either a flat roof or a ridgepole with sloping roof, and that it is built in rectangular form. Never mind what the dimensions are; our advice will apply to either the large or the small structure. First raise it off the ground, or build a new floor off the ground, so that rats cannot breed out of your sight in the darkness and get up into the squab house. If there is an old floor, patch up all the holes in it. Now you need one door, to get yourself in and out of the squab house, and you need at least one window through which the pigeons can fly from the squab house into the flying pen and back from the flying pen into the house. You will shut this window on cold nights, or on cold winter days. You must cover the whole window with wire netting so that the birds cannot break the panes of glass by flying against them. If you have no wire netting over the window, some of the birds, when it is closed, will not figure out for themselves that the glass stops their progress, but will bang against the panes at full speed, sometimes hurting their heads and dazing them and at other times breaking the glass. The flying pen which you will buiid on the window side of the squab house may be as small or as large as you have room. The idea of it is not to give the birds an opportunity for long flight, but simply to get them out into the open air and sun- light. They enjoy the sun very much, it does them good ae S reece wy seeek : eretete = Vs \\y9 TT 24 HOW CITY DWELLE RS WITHOUT LAND MAY BRE ED SQUABS BLAINE LEIS) WA SILA CTE 25 and they court its direct rays all the time. Build the flying pen, if you choose, up over the roof, so the birds may sun themselves there. If that side of the roof which faces the flying pen is too steep for the pigeons to get a foothold, nail footholds along the roof, same as carpenters use when they are shingling a roof, and the pigeons will rest on these to sun themselves. For the flying pen you want the ordinary poultry netting, either of one-inch or two-inch mesh. The two-inch mesh is almost invariably used by squab raisers, because it is very much cheaper than the one-inch mesh. The one-inch mesh is used only by squab raisers who are afraid that small birds (the English sparrows here in New England) will steal through the large meshes of the two-inch netting and eat the grain which you have bought for the pigeons. You can buy this wire netting in rolls of any width from one foot up to six feet. If your flying pen is twelve feet high, you should use rolls of the six-foot wire. If it is ten feet high, rolls which are five feet wide are what you want. If your flying pen is to be eight feet high, buy rolls which are four feet wide. In joining one width of wire netting to its neighbor, in constructing your flying pen, do not cut small pieces of tie wire and tie them together, for that takes too much time and is a bungling job, but buy a coil of No. 18 or-20 iron wire and weave this from one selvage to another of your wire netting in and out of the meshes, and you have the best joint. You can line the three walls of the interior of your squab house with nest boxes if you choose. The fourth wall is the one in which the window or windows are. On this fourth wall you should not have nest boxes, but perches. These perches, or roosts, should be tacked up about fifteen inches apart, so as to give the birds room without interfering with one another. The advantage of the V-shaped roost which we advise is that a bird perched on it cannot soil the bird under- neath. Do not buy the patent pigeon roosts which you see advertised, for a pigeon roosting on one will soil the pigeon roosting on the one immediately below. Please note particularly at this point the following terms which we use, and do not become confused. The nest box is something in which rests the nest bowl in which the nest is built. Do not speak or think of nests when you mean nest boxes. ‘NHd DNIATH GNV (AVMADVSSVd HLIM) ASNOH dvaos LINA Doe ee een aaseee SS See AWN) BAS. SARE oF The nest boxes, when done, should look like the pigeon-holes of a desk, and should be about one foot high, one foot wide and one foot deep. A variation either way of an inch or two will not matter. One way to get these pigeon-holes is to build them of nice pine lumber, in the form of boxing one-half or five-eighths of an inch thick. Another way is to use hemlock or spruce boards one inch thick. The third way (which we think is the best for the beginner who wishes to start most cheaply and quickly) is to use egg crates, or orange boxes. These egg crates are two feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep, but they are divided in the middle by a partition, giving two spaces, each of a cubic foot, and this is just what the squab raiser wants. They are procurable almost anywhere in the United States and Canada new for ten or fifteen cents each, and if you buy them after the egg shippers are through with them, you can get them for three to five cents apiece. Some grocers will be glad to have you carry them away and will charge you nothing for them. The crates are built of thin, tough wood and usually are neat and solid. Take off the covers and throw the covers away,—you do not need them. iene ptimoneseseucrate Onis cide Open! top out, «place another egg crate on top of that, and so on until you have covered the three walls of your squab house from the floor to the roof. Do not use any nails, they are not necessary: the crates will keep in position by their weight. It is an advantage, also, to have them loose, for when you clean the nests, you can step up on a chair or box, take down the crates, commencing with the top, and clean each one with your feet on the floor. If you build a substantial set of nest boxes of boxing or hemlock lumber, you will have to stand on a chair and strain your arms in order to clean the top nest boxes, so you see there are points in the low-priced arrangement not possessed by the fancy kind. It is on the same principle by which a humble small boy with bent pin and worms and an old pole catches more fish than the city angler with a twenty- five dollar assortment of hooks, lines and artificial flies. It is the pigeons and the intelligence behind them which do the trick, every time. A fancy pigeon house with fancy trimmings cannot produce any better squabs than the home-made affair, provided the birds are the same in both cases. o me} a See Lojps-d e| 8aae Stes le B sete S505 , mS BIE Soh B S25be oa] n M Or ZY g2 582 ro) o A Bava A n ne Om oo H asp S Ame aS Meri —————————— oo —————————— ——$—$—$ | a AUN IBAS VC ST AURIC 29 You should have a pair of nest boxes for a pair of pigeons. By a pair of pigeons we mean two pigeons, a male and a female. By a pair of nest boxes we mean two nest boxes. We find that the word pair has a different meaning to people in different parts of the country, perhaps on the same principle that a pair of scissors or a pair of suspenders is one object, while a pair of something else, as in this case, means two objects. A pair of pigeons attend to a pair of squabs in one nest box, nevertheless for each pair of pigeons you need two nest boxes, for when the squabs are about two weeks old in one nest, the old birds will go to the adjoining nest box, or to a nest box in a distant part of the squab house, and begin housekeeping again, laying eggs and dividing their attention between the two families. Count your nest boxes and you will know how many pigeons your house will accommodate. If your count shows ninety-six nest boxes (in other words, forty-eight pairs of nest boxes), you can accommodate (in theory) forty-eight pairs of pigeons. It is important to remember this: Never fill a house with pigeons to the uttermost limit of its capacity, as shown by count of nest boxes. If you have, for example, forty-eight pairs of nest boxes, do not put into that house more than thirty to forty pairs of pigeons. That will leave plenty of nest boxes for the birds to choose from. We have found by experience that thirty or thirty-five pairs in a ninety-six nest-box house will accomplish more than more pairs in the same space. Do not write us and tell us that you have a house of a certain size and ask us to tell you how many pairs of pigeons it will accommodate. Put in your nest boxes as we have described and then count them, and you will know. Or you may figure it out for yourself on paper, allowing two nest boxes, each one cubic foot in size, for each pair of birds. To put it in another way, you should allow one cubic foot of nest box space for each breeding pigeon. Surely we have made this so plain now that you cannot go astray. Perhaps your start will be made with so small a number of birds that you will not have to cover more than one wall of your squab house with nest boxes. Cover one wall, or two walls,.or three walls, whichever the occasion demands. Have a lot of spare boxes, and let the breeding pairs choose where “4, YY Seo BEST NEST BOX CONSTRUCTION. When the nest boxes are built of lumber (one-half an inch or five-eighths of an inch thick) the above construction should be employed. The bottoms are not nailed, but slide in on cleats. as shown. The result is a sliding shelf. This shelf may be pulled out at cleaning time and a better and quicker job of cleaning done. The nest bowls may be screwed directly to the bottoms of the above nest boxes. If that is done, it will not be necessary to screw the nest bowls to blocks of wood, to give them stability. The nest boxes should be from ten inches to twelve inches square. Jal ING IBIAS, WA ASST AUR IE dl they will. An extra number of nest boxes may be useful to you to accommodate the young birds raised to breeding age from the old birds which you buy of us, if you intend to raise your squabs to breeding age. An expenditure of not over five dollars, and a couple of days’ time, will transform the average old building into a habitation for squabs. Put on the finishing touches and add to the expense to suit your fancy. You may cover the out- side of the building with building paper, and shingle or clap- board it. You may putaskylight in the roof for ventilation, Improve it all you wish. Use your own judgment. To get at your pigeons in such a house, you walk in through the door and find yourself directly among them, the nest boxes all pointing at you. Go to the nest which you wish to investigate or from which you wish to take out the squabs and put your hand in the opening. The old birds will fly by your head, perhaps, and may strike you with their wings, but they will not fly into your face and eyes,—they are good _ dodgers. Don’t be afraid that if you enter the house when the housekeeping is going on you will frighten the birds so they never will come back to the eggs or the squabs. T hey will seem timid at first, but they will get accustomed to you. In the course of a few weeks, only a few will make a great hustle to get away from you. Many of them will continue to sit contentedly on the eggs and if you put up your hand to them they will not fly off in fear but will slap you with their wings, telling you in their language not to bother them. Carry some hempseed in with you and you will teach the birds to come and eat it out of your hand. You can tame them and teach them to love you as any animal is taught. The pigeon, particularly the Homer, the king of them all, is a knowing bird. . Tack up a few perches where you have room on that wall or those walls of the squab house which have no nest boxes. You do not need a perch for every pigeon, because while some are on perches, others are in the nests, or out in the flying pen, or on the roof, or on the floor of the squab house. If you have forty-eight pigeons, twenty perches will be enough, and you can get along with a dozen. Make each perch of two pieces of board, one six inches square, the other six inches by five, and toe-nail the perch to the wall of the squab house —S—— SS == —_ — —————_ SS ——<———— i) USE RIENL TtTh _——— eee — 4 RAstte SSG RAO KMASITAOVIVO UBIO NEN V ROA CUUEI DOR Re Sea Eg 32 INTERIOR OF SQUAB HOUSE, SHOWING PERCHES. AN INS JEANS SOS IVAICIE 33 as shown in the illustration. You cannot have one long pole inside the squab house for a pigeon perch. If you had such a pole, and your pigeons were perched on it, or some of them were, a bully cock would saunter down the line and push off all the others. In the centre of the squab house you place an empty crate or overturned box. The object of this is to break the force of the wind made by the pigeons’ wings as they fly in and out of the squab house. Otherwise the floor of the squab house would be swept clean by the force of the wind. It also forms a roosting-place for the birds, and, finally, it is a convenient resting-place for the straw, hay, grass or pine needles out of which the pigeons build their nests. The floor of the squab house should be kept clean. We formerly advised that a layer of sand or sawdust half an inch thick be kept on the floor of the squab house, to absorb the droppings, but we have found a steady and profitable demand for pigeon manure, and this manure is worth scraping up and carefully saving, for its sale will pay from one-quarter to one-third of the grain bill. Use an ice chisel to scrape the droppings from the floor, and pack the manure away in barrels or bags. Clean the floor about once in three weeks, or oftener, depending on the size of your flock. Pigeon manure is in active demand all the time by tanneries. .We send the manure from our pigeons by freight to tanneries in Lowell, Lynn, Peabody and Danvers, and are paid for it at the rate of sixty cents a bushel. We have a building eighty feet long built especially for the drying and storing of the manure. During the years we have been in the squab business, we have sold enough pigeon manure to pay for nearly all the pigeon buildings on our farm. Some pigeon raisers with crude methods know nothing of the ~ralue of the manure and lose this by-product. They either ruin it by putting sand or sawdust on the floor of the squab house, or else waste it on their gardens. The pure manure is too valuable for home use. To fertilize our flower and vegetable gardens, and hay field, we scrape up from the flying pens, outdoors, the gravel which has become saturated with manure. It is surprising what an increase in vegetation this manure-soaked gravel will cause. Fresh gravel is put down in the flying pens. Be = INCAUIEIOUN AE SIAN IDYAURID “SOU GA IES IBOVO) IS A peculiarity about pigeon manure is that it is not foul- smeiling like hen manure, and when it is mixed with water you get a kind of crude soap. In washing the old-style earthenware nest bowls, no soap was necessary. We used warm water in washing them and the manure caked te them formed a cleansing soap in conjunction with the water. If you have a basket in which you have transported pigeons, and whose bottom is caked with the hard droppings, lay the basket face down and sprinkle water liberally on the under- side. The manure will drop off in large pieces from the inside and the basket will become perfectly clean. In raising live-stock of any kind, arrange matters so the animals will look after themselves as much as possible. Aim to cut down the factor of personal drudgery, so as to leave your time clear to observe, plan, and execute intelligently. Beginners who load themselves down with a daily round of exacting duties soon lose heart, their patience gives out and they become disgusted. We have known breeders of rabbits to fail simply because they raised them in hutches. Each hutch had a door and two dishes, one for feed, the other for water. Every day, the door of the hutch had to be opened, the hutch cleaned, the dishes refilled (and often cleaned), and the door closed. It took fifteen or twenty motions to do this for each hutch. Multiply this by twenty to thirty (the number of the hutches), and the burden grew unbearable. It was not surprising that in three or four months the breeder’s patience was worn out. The factor of personal drudgery had become greater than the rabbits. The thoughtful breeder would have turned his rabbits into two or three enclosures on the ground and let them shift for themselves. Then one set of motions in feeding would have answered for all, and there would have been no dirt to clean up. Infinite patience as well as skill is required to make a success of animals given individual attention. The aim of every breeder should be to make one minute of his time serve the greatest possible num- ber of animals. When you think and reason for yourself, you understand how much more practical it is to give sixty animals one minute of your time than one animal one minute. Time is money and if you are too particular, and too fussy. and thoughtless about these details, it 1s a clear case of the chances being sixty to one against you. ALIN IBALS SC SICAUR IE 35 At the start, the problem of breeding squabs for market is in your favor, because one hundred pairs of breeding pigeons may be handled as easily and as rapidly as one pair. Try to keep this numerical advantage in your favor all the time. Discard every plan that cuts down the efficiency of your own labor, and adopt every device that will give you control in the same time over a greater number of pigeons. It takes brains and skilled labor to run a poultry plant successfully. Every poultryman knows that he cannot entrust the regulation of temperatures of incubators and brooders to an ignorant hired man, but even a boy or girl, or under-the-average farm hand, knows enough to fill up the bath pans and feeding troughs for squab-breeders, leaving the time of the owner free for correspondence and the more skilful work. The primary object is to breed squabs for market as cheaply, as easily and as fast as possible, without the expenditure of a dollar for fanciful or impractical appurtenances. Do not think it is necessary to heat your squab house. A squab house which has the chill of dampness taken off it by hot water or steam pipes will raise more squabs than a house not heated, but a flock of pigeons in a small house throw off considerable heat from their bodies and will breed in cold weather all right. After you have developed your plant and have a large business which you wish to keep at the highest state of efficiency, you may heat your squab house. The idea of heat in winter time is to keep the birds more contented and get more squabs out of them, and not at all to keep them alive. Do not be afraid that your pigeons will freeze to death. We have many customers in Canada. In coldest weather, the old birds hover the squabs more carefully. City people can keep pigeons in the garret of a house, or the loft of a barn, without a foot of ground being needed. In such a case the flying pen, or place to which the pigeons go for sun and air, can be built out on a platform. The illus- tration (page 24) shows how to utilize a window of a garret. If you think that rats will trouble you in either a garret or barn loft, cover the floor inside, especially the corners, with fine wire netting through which it will be impossible for the rats to gnaw from below. One of our customers in Illinois, a rich horse breeder having (6) INCA INI OUINUZUE. SIM AV NODIAIKID) “SOU ule) 1 OO) ES a barn some two hundred feet long, turned the whole upper story into a loft for pigeons. The flying pen takes in the whole back of the barn. There are windows and no doors on this side of the barn, the horses using doors on the other side, so this leaves the upper story of the barn, and its whole back-yard, free for the pigeons. A PRETTY SQUAB HOUSE AND FLYING PEN. CJA AIC I IEIK, JOU. Wieslls, VIN IS(OwW Se, Best Possible Construction for a Squab Plant— The Wind- Break Formation of Roof — Dimensions of the Unit — Multiplying the Unit to Increase the Capacity of Your Plant — A Passageway behind the Nest Boxes — Number- ing the Nest Boxes, and the Management of a Card Index to Correspond — Cost of the Unit Construction 1s from Three Dollars to Five Doilars a Running Foot — Working Drawings — The Nest Bowls. If you have no building already standing which you can fix over for pigeons, you may erect a simple rectangular structure and line it with nest. boxes as we have described in the last chapter. We will tell you in this chapter how to put up the finest kind of a pigeon structure. It is at the same time the most expensive. It is the best, the most workmanlike. In saying that it is expensive, we do not mean that money is thrown away on its construction, for that is not so. It is a fit habitation for a money-making investment. This best method of construction results in what we call the unit house. You can multiply this unit as many times as you please and get as large a house as you wish, or you may add a unit from time to time, just as you add unit bookcases to accommodate the growth of the modern library shelves. You can erect these units separately, or attach one unit to the other so that you have one long building. The nest boxes are built of boxing and set in a vertical row at the back of the house, forming a wall between which and the north side of the house is a three-foot passageway. You can buy this boxing at a saw-mill all cut, ten by eleven inches, the dimensions of the nest, and if you get it in this shape you can put the boxes together with as much ease as a child builds a doll’s house. You will have no doubts as to the squareness and plumbness of the structure when you have it up. Take long lengths of boxing eleven inches wide for the shelving which should form the top and bottom of the nest boxes, then set the ten-inch by eleven-inch pieces the proper distance 37 ‘que[d SIq & WO} 0} Joo} VLOUL 10 YO ‘00S ‘OOL UOTJoNA}suOd sty} pusyxq ‘HSNOH LINOA ATdI LION 38 Wi6ugs CO INIIE lel OWS 39 apart. The finished nest will be eleven inches from front to back, ten inches from top to bottom, and about ten inches from one partition to the other (or whatever distance the proper distribution of your nests in pairs permits). We have found five-eighths-inch boxing to be the best suited. Build the nest boxes up from floor to roof perfectly plain, just as the pigeon-holes of a desk run. The nest boxes should be perfectly plain, made of simple boxing in the manner described. Do not build up a piece of boxing at the front part of the nest to prevent the nest bowl from being pushed out. Early in our experience we built nests in this way, but soon changed them over to the simpler form, on account of the difficulty of keeping them clean. The droppings bank up at the front of such a nest box. Pigeons, especially a new flock in a new home, breed best _ in a house which is somewhat dark, and not too glaring with light. If your window is situated so as to let in a flood of light, you will get better and quicker results by shading it so that the interior will be dim. Some breeders advocate that the nest boxes have fronts of wood (removable) so that the nest box will be darkened. The same result will be accom- plished if the window of the house is shaded so as to temper the light and prevent it from streaming into the nest boxes. The dimensions of this unit squab house are as follows: Length, sixteen feet; width, twelve feet; length of flying pen from end of house to end of yard, twenty feet; distance from floor of squab house to ridgepole, twelve feet; two windows in south wall of squab house, each two feet two inches wide and three feet ten inches high. One window in north wall of squab house, two feet two inches wide and three feet ten inches high. There is a passageway on the north side of the squab house three feet wide, separating the north wall from the vertical row of nest boxes. The door of the squab house opens into this passageway so that you can enter the house without being seen by the birds, and without disturbing them. If you wish, you can set up rows of nest boxes on the east and west walls of the squab house and accommodate more pairs. You cannot have a passageway behind these nest boxes on the east and west walls, but will approach them - from the front by entering the interior of the squab house through a wire door which leads from the passageway. it re & ¥ INTERIOR OF MULTIPLE UNIT HOUSE. This is one of our houses. The drinking fountains stand in the passageway and their fronts project through the wire netting under the first row of nest boxes. The nest boxes are empty egg crates. The feed troughs are inside of each pen. In other houses, we set the feed troughs alongside the drinkers in the alleyway and cut away the netting so the birds can feed from them. We like the last arrange- ment best because the troughs can be filled more quickly from the passageway, and the time of opening and closing doors and going into pens is saved. iia) NAT ALO OST 41 Build the first unit so that you can extend it either to the east or west (as your land lies) to increase your accommoda- tions. Your squab house will always remain sixteen feet from north to south, but it may be either twelve feet from east to west, for one unit, or twenty-four feet for two units, or thirty-six feet for three units, and so on. Of course you can build one long house sixteen feet wide and in length any multiple of twelve, and keep all the birds you wish in it, but we do not advise such an arrangement. You can keep track of your pairs better if you split a big flock up into unit flocks. Fanciers breeding flying Homers from our birds, or squab- raisers who wish to keep track of every pair of birds, can provide a card index (the cards being perfectly blank and three by five inches in size), number the cards to corre- spond with the nest boxes, and on these cards keep a record of what the birds in the nest boxes do. These cards, which are blank except for the numbers they bear, can be kept in a tray such as the manufacturers of card indexes advertise in the back pages of the magazines and you can pick out any card you wish, or turn to it, at once. It is much better than keeping a record in a book, for you cannot tear out the leaves of a book, as you can throw away a card, nor can you shift one page from one location to another, as you can a card in a tray. The floor of the squab house rests on cedar posts and is two feet from the ground. The floor is built of two thick- nesses of board, with building paper between. The walls of the squab house are built of boards which are covered with building paper and shingled. The roof is shingled. You can use clapboards on the sides, or common boards. ~The cost of such a squab house, complete with flying pen and all inside fittings, built in the best possible manner, will be from three dollars to five dollars a running foot. That is to say, a unit plant twelve feet long will cost from thirty-six to sixty dollars. A plant consisting of three units, thirty-six feet long, will cost from one hundred and eight to one hun- ‘dred and fifty dollars. We publish and sell for ten cent? working drawings showing just how to build a unit in every detail. On the same sheet are working drawings for building a simple squab house (without passageway) to cost from fifteen to twenty-five dollars. Also on the same sheet we give data showing how one of our friends built a ‘[eoHjourd se [Jem SB euIOSpueY ‘e[duIIs yng Ysno10Y} St UOONIySUOD ayy, ‘SNVWId HO OL ONIGHOOOV LIING ‘SLINQ NAL “ASNOH LINA ATdILTAW 42 Tee, (WUNUEIE LOWS IZ, 43 squab house and pen capable of accommodating two hundred and twenty pairs of breeders at a cost of one hundred and thirty dollars. In ordering, simply say you wish pians and specifications for squab houses. Some beginners with plenty of means and anxious for the best construction write us to ask if a cement floor is not better than a wood floor. A cement floor is_ positively wrong, for this reason: when it is freshly laid, it is good, but the first winter causes the dirt foundation to shrink and swell, then come cracks in the cement. Rats and mice burrow in the dirt up to the cement and find their way through the cracks to the squabs. In a short time, they are a nuisance. We have seen a squab house built with cement floor which cracked as described and every time the owner and his dog took a walk down the alleyway, they found rats to kill. Finally the whole lot of cement had to be pounded to pieces, _ shoveled up and carted off. The way to stop rats and mice is to erect the building on posts as we have described. Rats and mice live in the dirt and they cannot get up into the squab house. Let your dog or cat every day under such a house, between the flooring and the ground, and they will keep down the vermin as fast as they show themselves, and your squabs never will be troubled. In our early plans for the unit squab house, we provided for a building with a “ jog” in the roof, making a long, low slope for the south side of the roof, and on this slope the birds would sun themselves and make love. This “ jog ” construction 1s more expensive than is needed, and now we have a better way. We have an ordinary pitch roof, sloping equally from the ridgepole to both north and south. We run the flying pen out on the south side, not from the ridgepole, but from the eaves, and then out in the tiving pen we erect perches as shown in the picture. The fact that the birds rest easily on these perches (as the photograph in Appen- dix A shows) is proof that they are contented and pleased by such an arrangement We have found, too, that they can hear the squeaks of their young for food better than if they are up on the roof, and better attention to the squabs is the result. It was formerly thought unsafe to erect perch- ing poles in the flying pen directly in front of the windows, the fear being that birds darting suddenly out of the windows 44 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK would strike the perching poles and become injured. Such a fear goes on the assumption that a pigeon cannot take care of itself in flight. They are quick of eye and quick of wing, and are intelligent to a high degree, and we never knew a bird to be injured by flying against horizontal perches in the flying pen. They never strike them but always fly between them or alight on them. Please note particularly that if you erect one long building which will be a multiple of units, you separate these units, both inside and outside of the squab house, not by board partitions, but by wire partitions. For instance, if you have a building one hundred feet long, ten units, you will separate the units by nine wire partitions, these partitions being erected both inside and outside the house. Gi ATE Wax IN, NEST BOWLS AND NESTS. Do Not Use the Old-Fashioned Nest Pans—Obvious Faults of the Earthenware Nappy— The Wood-Fibre Nest Bowl —How the Pigeons Choose Nest Boxes—What to Use jor Nesting Material— How the Birds Manage their Nests. For nest pans, do not use the heavy, deep, red clay, unglazed dishes which you may see offered for sale as pigeon nests. They are a relic of the past. In our early experience we used for a pigeon nest bowl the common kitchen yellow earthenware nappy. We em- ployed two sizes, the six-inch and the seven-inch, changing ‘from the large one to the small one when the squabs were two weeks old. These earthenware nappies filled the bill in being cheap and shallow, and the pigeons deposited their _ manure in a circle outside and not inside the nest, but they have faults which are obvious. They are flat and not round- ing on the bottom. When the female pigeon turns the eggs (as she does daily, same as a hen, in order to give the heat of her body to the whole shell and to give fresh albumen to the germ) the eggs are liable to roll apart, making it necessary for the bird to gather them together again, and after two or three mishaps like this she is liable to desert them. The earthenware is cold, breakable and can be kept clean only with water. The washing of the nappies becomes a tedious task and is often neglected. In winter weather, the earthen- ware dishes become so cold that one’s fingers are numbed by handling them—and the squabs which sit in them are numbed, even frozen. Later we perfected a nest bowl made of wood which met every objection raised against earthenware. We sold thou- sands of them during the two years we had them on the market and they gave good satisfaction except when some were made of improperly seasoned lumber, in which case they would crack and split after a few months’ use. After study and experiment to remove this objection, we had expensive patterns and moulds made and began the manufacture of 45 OLD-STYLE NEST PAN. WATER DISH. LARGE NAPPY. SMALL NAPPY. Do not use either the old-style pigeon nest pan or open water dish. THE WOOD-FIBRE NEST BOWL. This is made in one size (nine inches diameter of bowl). To give stability, the bowl may be fastened to a base by one screw. The first picture shows the perspective view; the second. picture shows one-half cut away. This is the most practical nest pan for squab raising and is having an enormous sale. The bowl may be screwed directly to the bottom of the nest box. (See page 48.) BATH PAN AND DRINKER. HAND BASKET. One bath pan to every twelve pairs of birds is necessary. The hand basket (price $3.50) is used in large plants to carry. the squabs from the nests to the killing place. The squabs should not be killed in sight of the parent birds. 46 INJESI BOWLS BUNID INIESIS 47 these bowls out of wood fibre. Their success was quickly demonstrated and now we sell nothing else. These wood- fibre nest bowls have all the advantages of the wood bowls and at the same time are practically indestructible, cannot warp or split. The wood fibre of which they are made is thick and exceedingly tough, being solidified under many tons’ pressure. After making they are treated with an odorless, anti-moisture compound and then baked to flint- like hardness. We sell these wood fibre nest bowls in one size only, nine inches in diameter. Price, eight cents each, ninety-six cents per dozen, eleven dollars and fifty-two cents per gross. We make prompt shipment from Boston same day order is received, in any quantity. No order is filled for less than one dozen. We have the exclusive manufacture and sale of these goods and they cannot be obtained elsewhere. The advantages of this nest pan are these: (1) The eggs roll -to the centre and are always close together under the birds. (2) It is warmer than earthenware and eggs are not chilled. (8) It is cleaned without water by means of a trowel, and may then be whitewashed, if desired. (4) The claws of the old birds and squabs do not sprawl, and no cases of deformed legs in the squabs are found. (5) It is unbreakable. (6) When shipped either short or long distances, no packiig is necessary, they are lighter and the freight bill is smaller. (7) And finally the birds “ take’’ to them more readily than to earthenware, getting to work more quickly and producing more squabs. We make this wood fibre nest bowl in only one size as specified and illustrated (two sizes are not necessary because the feet of the squabs do not sprawl as in the case of the earthenware nappies). You will need one pair of nest bowls for every pair of pigeons (an other words, one nest bowl to every pigeon). If you order twenty-four pairs of breeders you will need forty-eight nest bowls. If you order ninety-six pairs of breeders you will need one hundred and ninety-two nest bowls. We know our birds will breed more successfully in these nest bowls than in earthenware, and to make it an object for you to buy them, you may deduct the freight charges on nest bowls from your order for birds. First order your nest bowls sent by freight, then when you order your breeders, 48> NATLONAESS PAN DARD SOWA Be OOK send us your freight receipt and count the amount as cash. Or you may order your birds at the same time you do the nest bowls (and other supplies) and when you get your freight receipt send it to us. Orders for one dozen to four dozen bowls should go by express with the birds (tied to the basket), unless it is desired to have the bowls go with grain, grit, shells, etc., by freight. Place one nest bowl in each one of your nest boxes. Let the pairs choose to suit themselves. At the end of the month, when you take out the squabs, take out the nest bowl, clean it and put it back. Many customers who do not use egg crates or orange boxes, but build their nest boxes of half-inch or five-eighths lumber, have written us that they used the construction which we illustrate on page 30, and which is good, because cleaning can be better done. The bottoms of the nest boxes are removable and rest on cleats, as the picture shows. The cleats are seven-eighths or one inch square and are nailed to the uprights. When this construction is employed, it is not necessary that you have a block or base screwed to our wood-fibre nest bowl. The nest bowl may be screwed directly onto this removable bottom. If you use egg crates or solid-built nest boxes, you will have to give the wood-fibre nest bowl stability by screwing it to a base of wood seven inches square and about three-quarters of an inch thick. When the squab house is ready for the birds, each of the nest boxes has one of these nest bowls. The pigeons build their own nests in them, taking the nesting material and flying to the nest bowl with it. The average nest has from one to two inches of straw compactly and prettily laid by the birds. Some birds use more nesting material than others. After the squabs are hatched, they quickly show that Nature never intended them to have a dirty nest. When they wish to make manure, they back up to the edge of the nest and “‘shoot”’ outward and over the edge of the nest bowl into the nest box, which is just where the breeder wants to find it. In a week or two there will be a circle of solid manure in the nest box, but it is out of the nest, and off and away from the feet of the squabs. As the squabs grow older, their claws tread and throw out the straw on which they were hatched, and the nest bowl gets bare again as it was in the first place. The small INTBS IF JBOWILS BUINID ISVESICS 49 amount of manure which then sticks to it is removed with a trowel. The use of this wood-fibre nest bowl has lightened the work a great deal for they never have to be washed. They should not be washed, for water weakens them, particularly at the bottom, where the screw hole is. A washer should be put under the screw head to hold the bowl tight and to prevent its turning while being cleaned. We ship these washers and screws with the bowls. The pigeons will not take with mathematical regularity pair by pair the nest boxes which you have provided. Some of them will take them in pairs, one adjoining the other. This makes it convenient for you in keeping track of them. Others will take one nest box in one part of the squab house but go to another part of the squab house for their second nest. Some will not take a nest box at all, but will build a rough nest on the floor of the squab house and rear their family there. Let them choose for themselves. The nests are built by the birds of straw, grass, hay or pine needles. The birds fly to the pile, select what wisps they want, then fly to the nest boxes and arrange the wisps in a nest bowl to suit themselves. Tobacco stems are recom- mended for nesting material, because the odor from them will have a tendency to drive away lice, but they are not necessary if the nest bowls are used and ordinary cleanliness observed. The tanners do not want manure mixed with tobacco stems which have dropped down from the nests. The stems, when wet in the vat, stain the hides. When tobacco stems are used for nesting material, it is impossible to prevent many of them from dropping to the floor, where they are tramped by the birds into the manure. The tanners do not care if some straw and hay are in the manure. Before cleaning out the squab house, the loose straw and feathers should be swept out with a broom. The best thing to keep the nesting material in is a berry crate. Fill it with straw and hay (use the fine oat, not rye straw, cut into six-inch lengths) and shut down the cover. Then when the birds want nesting material they will fly to the vertical openings in the sides of the berry crates, stick their bills in and make their selection. The cover of the berry crate prevents the birds from soiling the nesting material. 5X0) NALIN ON AIE STi val INIDBUSID) SO) (GUAUIE) IE(ONOIK They will not build nests with dirty nesting material. It must be first-class, clean, dry and sweet or they will not use it. Some of our customers use pine needles successfully for nesting material. We have never tried them because they are not plentiful around our farm. Where they are in abun- dance, we recommend that they be tried. When a new lot of pigeons are placed in a squab house, they will cause annoyance, while they are learning their new home and getting ready to go to work, by making manure in the nest bowls, where they roost. This cannot be prevented. The remedy is, to clean once a week. Fill this berry crate with nesting material (straw cut into six-inch lengths, and hay, mixed about equally) and place it in centre of squab house. The cover prevents the birds from fouling the nesting material. They stick their bills through the slats, select the wisps they want, and fly to nests, Cig Be WGI WV. WATER AND FEED. Necessity of Pure Water and Plenty of 1t—The Kind of Drinking Dish to Use and the Kind Not to Use—Manage- ment of the Drinking Fountain and Bath Pan—The Feed Trough and Selj-Feeder—Feeding Habits—What Grains to Use—How to Mix Red Wheat and Cracked Corn— Use of Grit, Oyster Shell and Salt—How to Feed the Dainties —Keep Feed before Your Flock All the Time. Pure water and plenty of it is good for pigeons. When the weather is not too cold, it is the custom of pigeons to get into water, wherever it is. When they cannot bathe in it, they will stick their dirty feet into it. When they cannot get in their feet, they will douse their heads. They are after water all the time. When feeding the squabs, the old bird will. fill up its crop with grain, then fly to the water and take a drink, then return and dole out to the squabs the watery and milky mixture on which they fatten. The source of drinking water should be separate from the bath pan. They will drink from the bath pan, to be sure, while the water remains comparatively clean, but after a few have bathed in it, it is unfit for any bird to drink, and inside of twenty minutes the pan is not only covered with a whitish, greasy scum, but is dyed greenish from the manure which has washed off their feet. There should be drinking water inside the squab house, provided you have not a running stream or some such clean water device in the flying pen. The kind of water dish you do not want in the squab house is the kind with the open top, into which the birds can wade, and which they can foul with their droppings. The best device we have found is the self-feeding fountain, such as we illus- trate on page 46. This fountain is made either of crockery or galvanized steel, or iron. Galvanized ton or steel is better than crockery, because if water freezes in such a dish the dish will not be cracked. It will be seen by examination of the self-drinker that it is impossible for the pigeons to foul 51 52) NALTONALS EANDARD SO UAB BOOKS the water. The reservoir holds quite a supply of water, which feeds down as fast as it is drunk by the pigeons. We have seen beginners puzzled by these self-drinking dishes; they cannot imagine why the water does not all run out at once by the bottom hole. Itisasimple principle in hydraulics which you may demonstrate to your own satisfaction by fill ng an ordinary tumbler with water and then inverting it in a saucer of water. There is no way for the air to get to the inside of the tumbler except by passing under the rim at the points where it touches the saucer, consequently it does not flow down unless the water is removed from the saucer, and then it ceases as soon as the water in the saucer rises over the rim of the tumbler again. In fact, some self-drinkers for poultry are made of two pieces of pottery exactly on the principle of the tumbler and saucer. These fountains are not so practical as the fountain which we illustrate, because a pigeon can roost on the top of it and foul the saucer with its droppings. In the fountain which we picture it is impossible for droppings to reach the mouth containing the water, even if the pigeon is perched directly on top of the fountain. The barrel shape of the fountain makes it hard for more than one pigeon to perch at the same time on its top, but one pigeon usually is found there. He gets there, for the special purpose, it seems, of fouling the water, but the fountain beats him and he can’t do it. Neither can he put his feet into the water unless he is an extraordinary gymnast capable of holding his body out at an angle to the perpendicular. The result is, that in actual practice the water keeps clean, and there is a supply of it ready about all the time. A fountain of a gallon capacity will keep two or three dozen pairs of breeders supplied all day. The fountain is filled by turning it on end and pouring water down into the opening. If you fill the fountain at the same time you fill the bath pan in the morning, you will have done your duty by the pigeons for the day. Cleanse these fountains at least once every two weeks with scalding hot water containing squab-fe-nol (pigeon disinfectant; see our price-list for description). The best place for the bath pan is out in the yard of the flying pen. A pan fifteen inches in diameter is right for a flock up to twelve pairs of birds. The pan should be from four to six inches deep, not over six inches, for a pigeon will WV A TAZ, ZAINID. Ji 15J5,/D) 53 not bathe in water where it would be likely to drown if pushed or sat on by its mates. Having the bath pan in position on the ground of the flying pen, you take to it once each day, in the morning, a bucket of water, and pour the water into the pan Then you can go away to business, if you wish. The pigeons will fly to the pan from the interior of the house, or from the roof, wherever they happen to be. Some will splash right in. Others will perch on the rim and drink before they bathe. When the water gets dirty, they know enough not to drink, unless they are very sorely pressed indeed for water. The water gets quite dirty from the bath- ing. A thick, greasy, white scum forms. The pigeons do not rustle in the dirt, as a hen does, but rely on the water to keep them clean and dainty. They flap their wings in the water and enjoy it thoroughly. A pigeon will never run away from water, as you will discover if when you are water- ing your lawn you turn the hose on them. Let the dirty water stand in the bath pan all day if you choose, or you may go to it an hour or two after you have filled the pan, and empty the water. One bath a day is enough. If there is a stream of water running through your property handy to your squab house, build your flying pen out over it and you need never trouble with bath pans or drinking water. If it is a deep stream, you will have to contrive a shallow bath tub at the shore, or divert part of the stream into a shallow run. The squab raiser with a stream of water handy should by all means make use of it and save himself the work of carrying water in pails. The bath pan may rest in a basin, if you choose, and the overflow caused by the splashing of the wings may be con- ducted to a sewer and drained away. You may conduct water in pipes and have a faucet opening out over the bath pan, which faucet you may control either directly or from a central station. An easy home-made arrangement to be used in conjunction with the bath pan consists of a wet sink in which the bath pan sits, and out of which the splashed water runs. In the winter it may be advisable to give your pigeons their bath in the squab house instead of in the yard of the flying pen, in which case you should have some device on the wet-sink principle to prevent the floor of the squab house from getting damp. Hab INCAVINIUOUNEAUIE, STA INUDIAUIRID. SO) (W865 IS OOQUN In northern latitudes it is not necessary nor desirable for the pigeons to bathe on cold winter days. Wait until a warm and sunny day comes. It will do the birds no harm to go for weeks in the winter without bathing. Many of our customers write us that they allow their birds to bathe in | the winter seldom or not at all. Feed may be given to pigeons in a less guarded way, for they do not soil the feed dish so freely as they do the drinking dishes. You may put the feed in open troughs (or on a flat board with a rim around it) in the squab house. If you observe them when eating, you will notice that they stand up to the feed in a somewhat orderly manner and peck at its contents. They do not sit in the dish and roll around in the feed as they do in the water. But they have one fault when eating and that is, to scatter the grains. They will push in their bills and toss them around in a search after tidbits, and scatter out on the floor kernel after kernel, and it will make your bump of economy ache to see this grain scattered around. There do not seem to be any neat, saving pigeons which go to the floor in the wake of their prodigal brethren and eat the crumbs. They all have a fancy for the first table and they get right at it and scatter the grain like the rest of their fellows, and apparently the pigeon who scatters the most grain is the one which struts around with the biggest front. The way to fool them is to provide in the squab house a covered trough, that is, covered except at the slit or points where they stick in their bills for food. With a little ingenuity you can cover an ordinary v-shaped trough so that it will be hard for the pigeons to waste the grain. You may have a self-feeder made as big or as small as you choose and in which the grain will drop down as it is eaten. We will try to present the matter of feed as clearly and fully as it seems to us to be possible. A woman in Santa Cruz, California, said she would like to raise squabs, and would begin by ordering her feed of us, exactly as we recom- mended, to be sent to her by freight from Boston via the Southern Pacific. A man in Cleveland ordered a quantity of red wheat and cracked corn to be sent by freight from us, when there were thousands of bushels of both staples in elevators in his city, in fact most of the Boston supply had passed through his city. We did not like to run the chance of WATIBIR: AINID 18 13JEID 55 losing the order for breeding stock either of the woman in Santa Cruz or of the gentleman in Cleveland, but we wrote to both that they ought not to go into the squab-raising business if they were to be dependent on us for grain, that it was too far to send and that if they would look around home they could get what they wanted. Here in New England we feed to pigeons cracked corn, red wheat, hemp-seed, Canada peas, kaffir corn, — the foregoing as a rule, and sometimes, when cheap, buckwheat, millet and barley. : It was formerly thought that whole corn was not a good food for pigeons, on the theory that the old pigeons would eat the large kernels and then, perhaps, feed them to squabs, choking them. In practice, not one case in one hundred like that will be found. Whole corn is much relished by pigeons. They will eat it before they will eat anything else, except hempseed, and there is no danger in using it. In many sections of the country, we find, good cracked corn is not so easy to procure as good whole corn. The grain dealers take their poor whole corn, sometimes, and work it over into cracked corn. Gvod whole corn speaks for itself and when you buy it there is no doubt about it. All the time people write to us and say they never heard of red wheat. More write and say they don’t know what kaffir corn is. Others are puzzled by hemp-seed, they have never seen any. That is surprising to us here in New England, but no doubt we would be just as surprised if we were in our customers’ places. Let us see if we cannot level up the whole country on this question of feed for pigeons. As a rule, we say, feed the grains which are nearest you. This country hasits corn belt, its wheat belt, its section where millet is raised. Buckwheat is plentiful in another section. For your leading grain, your staple, feed corn. The point to remember is to feed a variety of grains. Keep this word variety in your mind all the time in dealing with your pigeons. Their appetites do not grow keen on a monotonous diet, they will not lay the eggs they should, and their health will not be good on it. Vary the diet. In order to find out what grains are convenient to you, go to your nearest grain dealer or country general store. The 5 IN IOTOUN UL SILA INIDAIKID SQUWAUS JOO IK dealer in nine cases out of ten knows nothing about pigeons and their feed and if you give him the name of a strange grain, he will be liable to shy and say he never heard of it. The trouble with him is that he sells horse feed and is accustomed to handling only the grains which horses need. He can get the grains you wish by writing to his nearest port or railroad junction. There is nothing odd or out of the way about the grains. They are going from one point to another all the time. Sometimes they are scarce at certain periods of the year. For instance, nearly every fall there is no kaffir corn at a reasonable price obtainable in Boston, so we do not feed it to our pigeons then, but cut it out altogether in favor of the grains selling at a lower price. Most of the kaffir corn which we get in Boston comes from Kansas. It is a splendid feed for pigeons. Itis small and comparatively soft, and their crops make easy work of it. It is nourishing and they like it. Maybe your grain man sells a mixture for pigeons. If you will look in this mixture you will find probably kaffir corn, as well as buckwheat (in black kernels), also red wheat and Canada peas. A liberal supply of Canada peas and hemp-seed is necessary for a good egg production. Do not feed a great excess of corn, in the summer time. (By corn, we mean common Indian corn, not kaffir corn. Kaffir corn is harmless, even when forced on the birds.) The effect of corn is to heat the blood. This is what you want in the winter time, but not in the summer. Red wheat is better than white wheat to feed to pigeons because it is not so likely to cause diarrhcea, (See supple- ment of this book.) Beware of feeding too much wheat. Pigeons fed on an excess of wheat are constantly out of condition with continual diarrhoea and will lay no eggs while in that:state. We recall vividly cases of pigeons doing poorly caused by the owner’s stupidity in feeding too much wheat. One customer in Kansas fed nothing but wheat and got his birds so weak that they could not fly off the ground. Another in California with a flock of over one hundred pairs had not been able in six months’ time to get more than one quarter of his birds at work. He complained bitterly that his birds were “‘ not mated,” were all cocks, and so on, but after further correspondence WAINEIS AUINID 19 JaJO/D 57 disclosed that he was feeding nothing but wheat, with the exception of a handful of peas in the middle of the week and a handful of hemp-seed on Sunday ! ‘A properly balanced ration is necessary to egg production in the case of pigeons, same as poultry. Wheat is a good regulator for pigeons but corn is the great fattener and the main staple. When anybody fails with pigeons, if you pick up and handle the birds you will find in nine cases out of ten that they have sharp breastbones, which means that they are improperly nourished, out of condition, and of course cannot produce eggs because.they have not the blood and fat to do it. All the grains which you feed should be old, hard, dry and sweet. If they smell sour or taste bad to your own tongue, don’t feed them to your pigeons. Above all, keep your grain dry. If you have the grain stored in bins which are damp from ground water, or which catch the drippings from the eaves, or through holes in the roof, first you will get sour grain and then some of the grain will sprout, and this sprouted grain will derange the bowels of your birds and bring on dysentery. Do not let rank little growths spring up in a dirty squab house or in the yard of your flying pen. Pigeons will peck at green leaves and grass and will not be harmed, but do not give them a chance to peck up sprouted grain and eat the sprout, grain and all, for if they do they will have diarrhoea. A pigeon in good condition and busy with a nest ordinarily will not touch a nasty little green sprout, but in the moulting season, when pigeons are in the dumps generally, and feeling like having a stimulant, they will experiment with these sprouts. Keep the floor of your squab house clean and the yard of the flying pen raked up and you need not worry about this matter. Ground oyster shell should be placed in a box handy for the pigeons to get at. The purpose of this oyster shell is to provide the constituents of the eggshell. The female pigeon needs it in order to form the egg. Grit is needed by the pigeons to enable them to reduce to powder the feed which they take into their crops The muscles of the crop work the grit on the grains and reduce the grains so that they mix with the digestive fluids. Cart two or three bushels of gravel or sharp sand into your flying pen and cover the ground with it. It is not necessary to SCENES ON THE $200,000 FARM OF ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS. We make a specialty of fitting up country estates with squab plants. There is more beauty and pleasure in pigeons than 58 arything on the farm, especially for women and children. VATE RANG ED a 59 cover the whole space of the ground of the flying pen. For fuller discussion of shells and grit, see supplement. It is poor policy to mix anything but wheat and corn together. If you make a mixture of peas and hemp- seed with cracked corn and wheat, you will find that the pigeons will dig down after the peas and hemp-seed and toss the other grain around and waste it. The only mixture, therefore, which we feed is a mixture of wheat and corn. Fill the self-feeder with whole corn and wheat, in the propor- tion of three parts of the corn to one of wheat. We call the wheat and corn staples, because with us in New England they form the major part of the diet, and are the cheapest. The hemp-seed, buckwheat, Canada peas, kaffir corn, millet and barley we call dainties. We do not feed much millet, because we have the other grains, which are cheapest, but some of our customers in the millet sections - of the country feed a good deal of millet. In such cases they look on millet as one of their staples, and the hard-to-get grains are classed by them as dainties. The staple grains of which you will feed the most to your pigeons are the ones which are the cheapest for you. The more expensive grains will be classed by you as dainties. A good way to feed the dainties is to throw them out on the floor of the squab house by hand. You will see the pigeons make a rush for them and eat them with as much relish as a child eats candy. You should feed the dainties about three times a week, throwing handfuls on the floor until you see that the pigeons are satisfied and do not care for any more. Do not throw any feed on the ground of the flying pen, for the earth is liable to be damp, and this dampness will sour the grain, especially cracked corn, and if the pigeons eat it, they will get sour crops, and the fluids from the sour crops of the parent pigeons will make the squabs sick and perhaps kill them. Do all your feeding in the squab house and your pigeons will not have sour crops. Do not lay in a big stock of cracked corn at a time, for - cracked corn exposed to sudden changes of the weather is liable to take up dampness, and sour. Smell and taste it once a week or so and determine to your own satisfaction that it is not sour. CO NATO N AL STAN DATKD SOW AB 5: © ONike Some squab breeders feed twice a day, as much as the birds will eat up clean, but we do not believe in that system of feeding. Our own success, and the success of our customers in squab raising, is based largely on the fact that we insist on a continuous supply of food for the pigeons, when they are breeding. Use the self-feeder only with birds that are pro- ducing squabs. A new flock should be fed by hand twice daily what they will eat up clean in ten minutes. Keep them eager, active and racy. Do not let them get too fat, for if you do they will not start laying. Some beginners will use up weeks trying to get their birds started, others get all their pairs going in a few days. It is a matter of skillful feeding, exactly as in the case of hens. The best of mated pairs will not produce eggs unless nourished, because the act of copula- tion, as in the case of hens and roosters, has nothing to do with the volume of egg production, but only with the fertility of eggs. Food should be at hand in the self-feeder for birds which are breeding. They do not gorge, as a horse will if an un- limited supply of food is set before him. They are not — gluttons, like pigs. They do not lose their racy shape. A squab when hungry will squeak loudly to inform its parents of that fact and if you observe a squab house where the two meals a day are in vogue, you will note quite a chorus of squeaks. In a house where there is feed always at hand, you will not hear many hungry squeaks. It is greatly to your interest that the crops of your young birds be filled with food. The more their crops are stuffed with food, the quicker they will fatten and the fatter they will get. The parent birds should at all times be able to fill up their crops with feed and water and then fly to the nest to disgorge for the benefit of the squabs. Squab breeders differ concerning self-feeders, same as mothers differ about ways of bringing up babies. Each squab breeder thinks his method of feeding is the best. We speak not wholly from our own experience, but the experiences of thousands of customers extending over many years. There was formerly the same prejudice against self-feeders for poultry, until a man in Ohio, raising poultry with striking success by the aid of self-feeders, made his brethren sit up and take notice. In our stories of success printed at the back of WATER AND EDD 61 this book and elsewhere, are many cases of small flocks increased enormously, and the writers take pains to state that they are using the self-feeder. That is talk that means something. The loudest advocate of no self-feeder is the man who is trying hard to sell his Homers by some kind of a story different from what we tell. It does not matter to him what he says, solong as he combats us. Itis the game of such chaps to contradict all others and pose as the only real, simon-pure know-it-alls on pigeons. Some small parent Homers are such good feeders, such good fathers and mothers, that they stuff their squabs with grain and bring them up to a surprising fatness. We have had pairs of squabs which actually at four weeks of age were bigger than their parents. This is not surprising when you think that the squabs sit in their nest hour after hour doing nothing but accumulate fat, and taking no exercise to train off this fat. The old birds are flying around and do not have much fat on them; they are trim and muscular, and hard fleshed. You can tell an old pigeon after it is cooked when you put your teeth into it, just as you can tell an old fowl. Provide salt for your pigeons to keep them strong and - healthy. The safest kind of salt for you to use is rock salt, such as is sold for horses. Put a couple of big lumps of it in the squab house and let the pigeons peck at it when they wish. Put two more lumps out 1n the flying pen. When rain comes the water will wash some salt off the lumps into the gravel. (Empty the bath pans upon the lumps of salt.) The pigeons will eat this salt-impregnated gravel all around the lumps for an inch or so down into the ground. Do not feed powdered salt, for if you do the birds may eat too much of it and it will kill them. Coarse ground salt may be used, but the rock salt is best. Some green stuff is much relished by pigeons. It is good for them and will increase the egg, and, consequently, squab production. They are very fond of cabbage now and then, which should be chopped fine before being fed. (We mean raw, not cooked, cabbage.) When vines grow over the flying pen, they will be seen pecking at the green leaves. Green clover may be cut up and fed to them in conjunction with grain. It should be remembered that green stuff, as enu- merated in this paragraph, is fed only as a relish. 62, UNATTONAL STA NOARD SO CAG BiOOrs Table scraps, or what is commonly known as swill, should not be fed to pigeons. Rice may be fed, if plentiful and cheap. It has a tendency to correct diarrhoea caused by too much wheat. Some of our customers have been influenced by adverse criticism of our self-feeder to abandon it and feed in open troughs, but they have gone back to the self-feeder. One of these customers was Mr. Tyson, who started with several hundred pairs of our birds three years ago and now (1907) has the largest and best plant in the State of New Hampshire. His wife and son, with himself, have attained a high degree of skill and proficiency in the handling of their pigeons. The squabs they are breeding weigh at least nine pounds to the dozen. They ship to New York City, where they get very high prices. Mr. Tyson started by using the self-feeder for grain, as we advise, but being influenced by something seen in print, abandoned it and gave the open-trough method of feed- ing, twice or three times a day, a thorough trial. Immediately the birds began to fall off in production, and the squabs fell off in weight, some lots getting so skinny as to lose nearly two pounds to the dozen. That experience was enough. The Tysons went back to the self-feeder and now their squabs are plump, as they were in the first place, the old birds are in better condition, and breeding better. Do not put into the self-feeder a great lot of grain, but only enough to last about two days. A great quantity is liable to take up moisture in a spell of rainy weather and go stale, and is not relished by the birds as if it were supplied fresh every two or three days. CIAAIE I ISIE Wl, LAYING AND HATCHING. Laying an Egg ts under the Control of the Pigeon’s Mind— Fertile and Infertile Eggs— How the Cock Drives the Hev — One Day between Eggs— Hatch after Seventeen Days —How Squabs are Fed by the Paren’ Birds—Mating Males and Females— Use of the Mating Coop—Determina- tion of Sex—Color of Feathers Has No Effect on Color of Flesh— Pigeons Left to Themselves Will Not Inbreed— No Inbreeding Necessary even 1f you Start wi’h a Small Flock. The hen pigeon builds the nest. When the nest is built, the cock begins to “ drive”’ the hen around the house and pen. In a flock of breeding pigeons you always will see one or two cocks “ driving’”’ their mates, pecking at them and nagging them with the purpose of forcing them onto the nest to lay the eggs. The cock seems to take more interest in the coming family than the hen. The hen lays one egg in the nest, then skips a day and lays the second egg on the third day. Seventeen days after being laid the eggs hatch. The egg first laid hatches a day before the second, sometimes, but usually the parents do not sit close on the first egg, but stand over it, and do not incubate it. Sometimes one squab may get more than its share of food, and the younger one will weaken and die. This seldom happens but if you see one squab considerably larger than the other, the thing to do is to exchange with a squab from another nest that is nearer the size of the remaining squab. The old birds will not notice the change but will continue feeding the foster squab. The process of laying an egg is a mental operation. We mean by this that it is not a process which goes on regularly in spite of all conditions. The hen forms the egg in her body and lays it when she is in condition to, and when she wants to, not when she is forced to. In other words, the hen lays when conditions are satisfactory to her. That she forms the egg at will is proven by many things, principally by the fact that she allows one day to come in between the first and 63 THE QUICK GROWTH OF SQUABS FROM EGGS TO KILLING AGE IN FOUR WEEKS IS ILLUSTRATED ON THIS PAGE, PAGE 66 AND. PAGE 68. EGGS IN THE NEST. SQUABS JUST HATCHED. 64 ILA NAUNG AINID IsAICC IU ING 65 the second eggs. No doubt, after she has laid the first egg, she hurries the other along and lays it as soon after the first as she can, and it takes forty-eight hours for the egg, complete in its wonderful construction, to form. Hen pigeons in a ship- ping crate or close coop do not lay eggs, because they know that there are no facilities there for raising young. Once in a while you will find an egg in a shipping crate when the birds are taken out, but it is a comparatively rare occurrence. Of course, in order to lay a fertile egg, the hen pigeon must have received the attention of the cock bird. It is common for a hen pigeon at five months, and sometimes four, to lay an egg, but as a rule those first eggs from a young hen are not fertile because she has not yet mated with the cock bird. After a hen pigeon has reached six months of age, and is paired with a male, it is safe to assume as an almost invariable rule that the eggs she lays will be fertile. When the male bird gets to be six to ten years old, he may lose his vitality, and the eggs laid by his mate will not be fertile. Then it is necessary to provide the female with a new mate. The breeders we sell are of prime breeding age, from eight months to eighteen months old, and the eggs laid by hens of that age will be fertile and of full size, and the squabs bred from them will not be scrawny and lacking in vitality. From the day of its hatching to market time the squab is fed by its parents. The first food is a liquid secreted in the crop of both cock and hen, and called pigeons’ milk. The parent pigeons open their bills and the squabs thrust their bills within to get sustenance. This supply of pigeons’ milk lasts from five to six days. It gradually grows thicker and in a week is found to be mixed with corn and wheat in small particles. When about ten days old, the squabs are eating hard grain from the crops of the mature cock and hen. They fill up at the trough, then take a drink of water and fly to the nest to minister. to the little ones. You see how im- portant it is to have food available at all times. In fourteen, fifteen or sixteen days after the first pair of squabs have been hatched, the cock begins ‘“ driving” the hen again. This shows the necessity of a second nest for the pair. In this second nest the hen lays two more eggs, and the care of the first pair of squabs, now between two and three weeks old, devolves upon the cock. When this pair is four SQUABS ONE WEEK OLD. SQUABS TWO WEEKS OLD. 66 ILA YEENG AYND WATCHING 67 weeks old, it is taken out of the nest and killed and both the mature birds are concerned then only with the new hatch. This sequence of eggs and hatches goes on all the time. If there are not two nests, the two new eggs will be laid in the nest where are the growing squabs. The parents in their eagerness to sit on the new eggs will push the squabs out of the nest and they will die for lack of sustenance. The hen lays the eggs about four o’clock in the afternoon. The cock and hen take turns at covering the eggs, the hen sitting during the night until about ten o’clock in the morning, when the cock relieves her, remaining on until the latter part of the afternoon. When the squabs are taken out for market at the end of four weeks, the nest bowl and nest box should be cleaned. If this cleaning is done once a week, no trouble from parasites will result. In the summer it is well to add a little carbolic acid to the whitewash as an extra precaution. Sprinkle _unslaked lime on the floor of the squab house and in the nest boxes, and spray squab-fe-nol freely. One way of mating or pairing pigeons is to turn males and females in equal number into the same pen. They will seek their own mates and settle down to steady reproduction. _ Another method is to place the male and female which you wish to pairin a mating coop or hutch. In the course of a few days they will mate or pair and then you may turn them loose in the big pen with the others. The latter method is necessary when improving your flock by the addition of new blood, or when keeping a positive record of the ancestry of each pair. By studying your matings, you may improve the efficiency “Ol wOrbbe wlOClK, In the case of a new flock of pigeons shipped to a new home, all do not go to work at the same time. Those pairs which get to work first are bothered by the slower pairs. To judge from the advertisements of some breeders, anxious to claim everything for their birds and their wonderful matings, the beginner would think that all the birds he buys from them will go to work immediately when released in their new home. This is far from the truth. The pairs will go to work to suit themselves as to time. Some will be quick, others slow. As fast as each pair goes to work, it should be caught and placed in the breeding pen. The first pen, into which the birds SQUABS THREE WEEKS OLD. SQUABS FOUR WEEKS OLD. Ready to be killed for Market. 68 IEAM SAIUNG AUN ID Jel A ICE Js ING 69 were put on arrival, then can be used for the rearing pen for youngsters raised in the breeding pen. In case a pigeon loses 1ts mate by death or accident, the sex of the dead one must be ascertained. The live one should be removed from the pen and placed in the mating coop with a pigeon of the opposite sex. The mating coop should have a partition of lattice work or wire. Place the cock in one side, the hen in the other, and leave them thus for two or three days to flirt and tease each other, then remove the central lattice work or wire and they usually will pair, or mate. If they show no disposition to pair but on the contrary fight, replace the partition and try them for two or three days longer.. If they refuse to pair after two or three thorough trials, do not experiment any more with them, but select other mates. The determination of the sex of pigeons is difficult. The bones at the vent of a female are as a rule wider apart than of a male. If you hold the beak of a pigeon in one hand and the feet in the other, stretching them out, the male bird usually will hug his tail close to its body —the female will throw her tail. The best way to determine the sex is to watch the birds. The male is more lively than the female, and does more cooing, and in flirting with her usually turns around several times, while the female seldom turns more than half way around. The male may be seen pecking at the female and driving her to nest. When one pigeon is seen chasing another inside and outside the squab house, the driven one is the female and the driver her mate. Neither the squab breeder nor the flying-Homer breeder is much concerned about the color of feathers. There are blue checkers, red checkers, black checkers, silver, blue, brown, red, in fact about all the colors of the rainbow. Color has no relation to the ability of a pair to breed a large pair of squabs. We wish specially to emphasize the fact that the color of the feathers has no influence on the color of the skin of the squab. A white feathered bird does not mean a white- skinned squab. The feed affects the color of the meat a ‘ittle. A corn-fed pigeon will be yellower than one fed on a mixture. Squabs with dark skins (almost black in some cases) are the product of blood matings. The trouble with a dark-colored squab is in the blood and the only remedy is to get rid of them THE MATING COOP. One way of mating squab breeders is to turn cocks and hens in equal numbers into the same pen. The mating coov is used when the breeder wishes to pair a certain male with a certain female. The above mating coop is divided by a partition. The cock is placed on one side of the partition, the hen on the other, as pictured. They are left thus for a day or two to tease each other. Then raise the partition, or take it out, and allow them to approach each other when they vsually will be found to have formed an attachment. This being the case, they may be put into the large pen with the other birds, where they will find a nest box and go to house- keeping. If they fight when the partition is removed, try again, or try other mates. The coop pictured above is two feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep. 70° ILA NAUNG ANID isla IEG IBtONG 71 either by killing the parents or by remating. Usually the trouble comes from one parent bird, which you find by turning up the feathers and examining the skin. Having found the bird which is at fault, kill it. This point has come up con- tinually in our correspondence. The erroneous belief that white-feathered birds produce the whitest-skinned squabs seems to be widespread and we are asked sometimes for a flock of breeders “ all white.” Our experience with all white Homers is that they are smaller and have less stamina than the colored ones. The marketmen will take two cr three pairs of dark-skinned squabs in a bunch without comment, but an excess of dark ones will provoke a cut in price. Breeders who are shipping only the undressed squabs should pluck feathers now and then to see just what color of squabs they are getting. The dark-colored squabs are just as good eating as the light-colored ones, but buyers for the hotels and clubs, and those who visit the stalls, generally pick out theplump _ white-skinned squabs in preference to the plump dark-skinned ones. As a rule, squabs from Homer pigeons are white- skinned—the dark-colored squab is an exception. Many beginners wish to know if it will be all right for them to buy a flock and keep it in one house for six months or a year, paying no attention to the mating or pairing of the young birds, but leaving that to themselves, so as to get without much trouble a large flock before the killing of the squabs for market begins. Certainly, you may do this, providing extra nest boxes from time to time until your squab house has been filled with nests; then you will have to provide overflow quarters. We are asked if the flock will not become weakened by inbreeding, that is, a brother bird mating.up to a sister, by chance. According to the law of chances, such matings would take place not very often. Pigeons 1n a wild state, on the face of a cliff, or in an abandoned building, would pair by natural selection. The stronger bird gets the object of its affection, the weaker one is killed off or gets a weaker mate, whose young are shorter-lived, so the inevitable result is more strength and larger size. Nature works slowly, if surely. A lot of pigeons in one pen mating or pairing as they please when old enough is the natural way, and if you follow this, you cannot go very far wrong. We advocate matings by the breeder because it hurries Nature C22 INPAIDEOIN AUE, SIP AUNIDAURID SQ) AUE: JOO) Is along the path which makes most money for the breeder. We all know how Darwin studied natural and forced selection of pigeons. He took one pigeon with a certain peculiarity, say a full breast, and mated it to another pigeon with a full breast. The squabs from these birds, when grown, had breasts fuller than their parents. Then these in turn were mated to full-breasted pigeons from other parents, and the grandchildren had even larger breasts. Darwin’s experi- ments covered a period of over twenty years and in this time he developed little faults and peculiarities to an amazing degree. Every intelligent, careful pigeon breeder is striving by his forced matings to push along the path of progress the peculiar- ity in pigeons which is his specialty. The breeder who selects most carefully and keeps at it the longest wins over the others. By selecting from your best and most prolific breeders the biggest and fattest squabs, keeping them for breeders and mating so as to get something larger and plumper, you are all the time getting bigger squabs. Every breeder of squabs has it in his power to increase the efficiency of his flock by studying his matings. There is commerical satis- faction in breeding for size and plumpness because it pays at once, and at the same time the breeder has the satisfaction of increasing the stamina and variety of pigeons. To be master of the matings, the breeder should band his squabs. As scon as they are weaned (that is, as soon as the breeder sees them flying to the feed and eating it) they should be taken and put into one of the rearing pens. When about six months old, the breeder should begin mating them by selection, using the mating coop, then when they are mated turn the pair into a working pen with other adult birds. By looking at the number on the band of each bird, then on your record card, you know how to avoid mating up brother and sister. When the young birds are just over four weeks -old, or between four and six weeks, they are able to fly a little, and if they do not hop out of the nest (or are not pushed out by the parents) you may push them out yourself. They are now able to feed themselves. If these young birds are left in the squab house, they will bother the old birds by begging for food, and this infantile nagging will hinder the regular breeders in their next hatch, so the very best thing to do is IBARVEIEINIG SAGNED) SEleAWa CTE G: 73 to put the young birds by themselves into a rearing pen, where they cannot bother anybody. Of course there is likely to be a little inbreeding when you ‘eave the birds to choose for themselves, but not much. If the breeder has not the time to make forced matings, then he may not care to make them. Remember in mating that like begets like. The parent bird that feeds its young the most, and most often, will raise the biggest squab. Some- times a parent bird will have fine nursing abilities and will stuff its offspring with food. These good-feeding qualities are transmitted from one generation to another and are as much under the control of the breeder as size and flesh-color. Your biggest squabs will be found to have an extra-attentive father or mother, or both. A pigeon with a dark skin, if mated to a white-skinned bird will produce a mulatto-like squab. It is the large, fat, white-fleshed squab which you are after. Disregard the color of the feathers when mating. If when plucking your squabs you come across a “‘ nigger,” that is, a squab with a dark skin, find out what pair of breeders it came from and whether the cock or the hen is at fault, and get rid of the faulty one. It is important to start with adult birds that are not related, then you will not begin inbreeding. That is why we make a special effort with our adult birds to have them unrelated. some letters from customers make plain to us that a clear knowledge of what inbreeding means is not possessed by everybody. Several have written to this effect: “ If I buy two or three dozen pairs from you to start, how can I increase the size of my flock without inbreeding?’’ When (1) a brother is mated to sister or (2) a father to a daughter, or (3) a mother to a son, or (4) a grandson to his grandmother, etc. that is inbreeding. We know it is forbidden by law for human beings to mate in that manner, because (a) God in the Scriptures has forbidden it, and (b) because the State does not wish to have to care for the puny, weak-minded offspring that would result from such unions. We all know that the marriages of cousins often result in demented, diseased chil- dren. Now suppose you buy two dozen pairs of pigeons of us, and number them pairs one to twenty-four. If you mate _ the offspring of pair two (or any other pair)to the offspring of pair one (or any other pair) that is outbreeding or cross- (2 NATIONAITS TAIN DARD: SOW Abe O One breeding. What you do not do, and what you try to prevent, is the mating of the offspring of pair number one (or any other pair) to each other. So, you see, if you have a dozen or two pairs, you need never inbreed, for there is an infinite variety of matings possible. Breeders of animals sometimes inbreed purposely in order to get better color of fur or plumage, or finer bones, etc. There are no brothers and sisters in the flocks we sell. If you buy one dozen or twenty dozen pairs of breeders of us, the pairs will be unrelated, and you need never inbreed. We never heard a real pigeon breeder worry much about inbreeding, because the likelihood of it in a flock of even a dozen pairs is extremely remote, as we have demon- strated above. PIGEONS IN ST. MARK’S SQUARE, VENICE. Get acquainted with the pigeons which you buy of us, and let them get ac- quainted with you. They will work all the better for being tame and docile. These pigeons in Venice are fed by tourists on corn only. A peddler selling whole corn for two cents a package sits all day long on the steps at the base of the monument. Several photographers in the square make a specialty of taking pictures of tourists feeding the pigeons; snap shots by amateurs are constantly being made. In this city of canals, these pigeons get no grit, in fact nothing but the corn, and they would die if oblige:1 to pick up a living for themselves. They are healthy, proving the incorrectn-<+ of the assertion that a feed of nothing but corn will cause canker. They are small, however, of stunted growth. They are so tame that they will perch on your hand and eat grains of corn held in your lips. GlaLAIPINEIR, WWI, INCREASE OF FLOCK. It 1s Possible to Breed One Pair of Squabs Each Month, but in Actual Practice this 1s Seldom Attained—The Squab Ratser with Pure Thoroughbred Homers should Count on Six to Nine Pairs of Squabs a Year—The Common Pigeon Breeds Only Four or Five Pairs of Squabs a Year, but Eats as Much or More than the Homer—LDzfferences between the Homer and the Common Pigeon—Good Homers Scarce and the Market for them Firm and Steady. It is theoretically possible for a pair of pigeons to breed twelve pairs of squabs a year, for it takes only seventeen _ days for the eggs to hatch, and the hen goes to laying again when the hatch is only two weeks old. So, if you start with twelve pairs of Homer pigeons, and they should breed one pair of squabs a month, at the end of the first month you would have twenty-four squabs; at the end of the second month, forty-eight squabs; at the end of the third month, seventy-two squabs; at the end of the fourth month, ninety- six squabs; at the end of the fifth month, one hundred and twenty squaps. Now the first lot of squabs which your birds hatched will be ready to mate and lay eggs, so at the end of the sixth month you should have one hundred and sixty- eight squabs; at the end of the seventh month, two hundred and forty squabs; at the end of the eighth month, three hundred and thirty-six squabs; at the end of the ninth month, four hundred and fifty-six squabs; at the end of the tenth month, six hundred squabs; at the end of the eleventh month, seven hundred and sixty-eight squabs, and at the end of the twelfth month, nine hundred and sixty squabs. Such figures are purely theoretical and are seldom attained in actual practice. You will have some pairs in your flock which will raise ten and eleven pairs of squabs a year, but the average will be seven to nine pairs of squabs a year. If you get less, your flock is not pure thoroughbred Homers,.or your feeding and nesting arrangements are wrong. In our visit to squab breeders in 1902, we asked every one with whom 75 1o NATIONAL SEANDAKRD SOUNMNET BOOTS we talked how many pairs a year he was getting from his birds, and about all of them said seven to nine. This expe- rience corresponds with ours. We remember particularly an old gentleman, Preacher Hubbell, in Vineland, who had been in the squab business for years but was just going out of it, having sold his place, pigeons and all, to a Swede farmer. He told us he had always made squabs pay him and that his birds, of which he kept a careful record, raised him nine pairs to the year right along. It is a well-known fact that the common pigeon will breed only four or five pairs of squabs a year, and if handlers of big flocks of common pigeons, like Johnson of California, can make a net profit of one dollar per pair a year from such low breeders, we think anybody of no experience is justified in believing . our statement that our Homers are capable of earning a net profit of from two to three dollars per pair a year, taking into account not only their fast breeding qualities, but the superior size of the squabs. Here in New England we consider the common pigeons inconstant and happy-go-lucky breeders. They are not in the same class at all with the Homer pigeon. The common pigeon, the pigeon which flies the streets of our cities and towns, 1s a mixture of all kinds of pigeons, and it partakes of the faults of each, and not of the virtues. Its outward appearance is large, but it is an effect of feathers and not of flesh. Its feathers are loose and fluffy and its muscles soft and flabby. Its head is smaller than that of a Homer, the deficiency being marked in the curve of the skull which covers the brain. The Homer has a white flesh ring around the eye, but the common pigeon has none. The Homer has the largest brain of any variety of pigeon, and discloses this fact by its behavior. It has more sense and behaves with more intelligence. Its wonderful homing instinct marks it above and beyond all classes of pigeons and it is this quality which gives it a commercial value all over the world. The feathers of the Homer are laid close like a woman’s glove and the muscles under it feel as hard and firm as a piece of wood. Its breast is firm and well protected, with just the right amount of fullness. Its chest is large, indicating good lung power and staying qualities. Its wings are trim and shapely, in flight the poetry of motion. The poise of its body and head reminds one of a race-horse listening for the signal to speed over the JUN CGIRIEANSIB QUA IIL OC IE ad course. The lines from the neck to the body descend in a long, graceful sweep. Put a thoroughbred Homer into a flock of common pigeons and even a novice, if told to pick out the bird which would fly the fastest and furthest, would pick out the Homer. The Homer has a long bill (but not so long as the Dragoon pigeon). The bill of the common pigeon is short. Its bill is more hooked and is sharper pointed. Its head is shorter and more rounding on top. The common pigeon is seldom bred in captivity, because it does not pay for the grain which it consumes. If bred in a wild state, it picks up a living in the neighborhood, the owner not keeping it wired in. It is the cheapest kind of a pigeon, and thousands of pairs are used by trap shooters. Under- takers sometimes buy the white common pigeons in order to liberate them at graves, to signify the ascent of the soul to heaven. Common pigeons will lve anywhere, do not get attached to any home, but a Homer never forgets the place where it was bred and will search out its home in long flights. Common pigeons will alight on any building and will drink from different springs and wells, fouling them and making - themselves a nuisance in a neighborhood. The Homer will alight only on its own squab house and drink only at its own home. Common pigeons sell for fifty cents a pair and are frequently offered as Homers. Do not start with common pigeons and think to learn the habits of squab breeders with them. If you cross a common with a Homer pigeon you will take away the good qualities of the Homer and add nothing. There is not one element in a common pigeon which if added to a Homer would improve the offspring. It is hard to convince some people that there is any difference in pigeons whose feathers are the same color. The result is they buy the cheapest they can get. After feeding them for a time and getting no profitable results, they are compelled to sell them to the first trap shooter who comes along, and they go among their townspeople declaring that the pigeon business is no good. Remember this point, that if you are going to buy grain and feed it to anything so as to get a profit, it is the best policy to feed it to that grade of animal which will show the largest profit. Very few people are satisfied with shoddy suits nowadays, even if they look almost as well as the all- wool garments. It is the wear which the customer is after. CS INRA OUN AWE SJE IN IOP AURID) SS (OU 15) JOO) I Beware of shoddy pigeons. Buy the best Homers you can get, they will wear best and give you the most pride. Ex- perienced poultrymen do not go here and there looking for fowls at cut prices. They buy breeding stock of a reliable breeder which is reliable and sold at a price which will enable the seller to deliver a high quality article. We can tell when an order for our breeding stock comes from an old poultry- man, for they all write: “‘ I want the best stock you can give ane,” Good Homers do not glut the markets. They are always fairly scarce, and the price for them has always been well kept up. Beware of cheap Homers for sale at cut prices. There is always something the matter with such birds. They have been worked too long and are played out, or if a flock is offered “‘ at a bargain,” the birds do not produce the large, plump, No. 1 squab, but only culls. If a squab breeder is going to quit the business and offers you his flock of birds on the bargain counter, make him give a good reason to you for selling. If he has been unable to make the flock pay, you may be sure that you will be unable to make them pay. If he offers them to you without a good reason for selling, the chances are that it is a poor flock and he has got tired of buying grain for them, and wishes to saddle the burden upon you. We are always selling breeders and it is very much to our interest to protect our reputation by sending out only good Homers that will make money for their owners. This is what we do, and our large business has been built up by square dealing, and knowing the business thoroughly. A pair of Homers capable of earning a pair of squabs in one month which will sell for at least fifty cents 1s worth more than one dollar or one dollar and twenty-five cents a pair. A pair of birds capable of earning only a ten-cent or twenty-cent pair of squabs once in two or three months is worth only fifty cents a pair. Jersey cows are worth more than common cows because they earn more. Good Homer pigeons, bred skilfully, are worth more than poor Homers because they earn more. Cis AUP ICIBIR, WIUUL. KILLING AND COOLING. Kill the Squabs in the Morning when their Crops are Empty — Not Necessary to Use a Knije, their Necks may be Tweaked — Drive the Animal Heat out of their Bodies by Hanging them from Natls— The Ideal Squab when Shipped has an Empty Crop, tts Feet have been Washed Clean, and No Blood Shows — Sorting Squabs so as to Get the Highest Price from the Dealer. The time to kill the squabs is in the morning, when the crops are empty. In killing them it is not necessary to use a knife. Hold each squab in the manner shown in the illustration and break the neck with a sudden pull and push. Do not pull too hard or you will sever the neck from the body. Some of our customers have hard work to get this knack of tweaking the necks and prefer to wring the necks, or to use a - knife. To wring the neck, hold the squab by the head in the right hand and throw the body around in a complete circle, this act twisting and breaking the neck. After the squabs are killed they must be cooled. In other words the animal heat must be driven out of their bodies. Provide a piece of board or studding eight or ten feet long and every four inches along this studding drive a couple of nine penny wire finish nails close together, but not so close that you cannot squeeze in the legs of the squabs. A finish wire nail has no large head like an ordinary wire nail. Suspend the studding from the ceiling by means of wire adjusted at both ends of the studding. -This method of hanging it up is to prevent rats and cats from climbing up onto the studding, walking along it and eating the squabs. Place the feet of the squabs between the wire nails and let them hang down- wards over night. In the morning the heat will be all out of - their bodies and you can pack and ship them. If you are delivering plucked squabs to market, you do not need such an arrangement, but will throw the bodies into a tub of ice water (or cold spring water) after you have plucked them. When plucking the feathers from the killed squabs, the 79 INCORRECT POSITION OF HANDS. CORRECT POSITION OF HANDS. A squab is killed for market when it is plump and well feathered, usually when four weeks old, although many are ready for market when a day or two over three weeks old. Hold the hands close together on the neck, as shown in the bottcm picture and break the spine of the bird by pulling firmly and then pushing back. Do not put so much strength into the operation that you pull the head from the body. This method of killing is faster and neater than using a knife. 80 KEE DING SAND C OOLENG 81 operator should moisten his thumb and forefinger in a basin of water, to give him a grip on the feathers. They come off easily and an experienced picker will work very rapidly. A sharp pen-knife, or knife such as shoemakers use, is necessary to remove some of the pin feathers. They should be shaved off. Ignorance of how to cool the killed squabs properly has discouraged many a squab raiser. If you throw the squabs - in a pile on the floor after you have tweaked their necks, you will have a fermenting mass and the following morning, when you are ready to ship, many of the bodies will be dark- colored at the place of contact with the floor, or with other squabs, and decay will start from such discolored places. Hang the bodies from the studding, as we have described, and you wll cool them just right and you will be surprised that this part of the business ever could have discouraged anybody. If you number the nails which you have driven into the studding you will know just how many squabs you hang up, and you will not have to handle the squabs a second time to count them. The ideal squab which brings the highest price in the market is not only large and plump, but has a clean crop, so that no food will be left in it to sour. No blood shows anywhere on the body and its feet are clean. Ship in small quantities, especially in the summer. Do not pack in an enormous box, or the bottom layers will suffer. A squab should be killed, as we have stated, when from three to four weeks old, most generally at four weeks. Do not wait until it is five or six weeks old, when it may have left the nest. As soon as a squab is old enough to get out of the nest and walk around on the floor of the squab house, it quickly trains off its fat and grows lean and slender. Its flesh also loses its pure white coor and takes on a darker shade. You do not want either of these two conditions. If you tie up your killed squabs by the feet when shipping to market, do not tie a lean with a fat squab, for if you do the dealer probably will give you the price of the lean one. Put the fat squabs in one bunch and the lean squabs in another bunch. If you are shipping to two dealers, you can very often get the top price from both by giving one your best squabs and the other your second best. KILLED SQUABS HUNG TO COOL. After the squabs have been killed they should be hung as this picture shows to cool. The wooden scantling or studding is several feet long and is suspended from the ceiling at its ends by wire, so that cats and rats cannot climb to the squabs. A pair of nails are driven in four inches apart and the squabs’ legs set in between them 82 CIAAIP TEIN IDS. THE MARKETS. Squabs with the Feathers on Taken by the Boston and Some Other City Markets—The New York Market Wants Them Plucked and Pays the Highest Price of Any Northern City —Inter pretation of Quotations of Squabs as Seen in the News- papers—WIute-Fleshed Squabs are Wanted, Not Dark- Fleshed. The Boston market, and the markets in some other cities, will take squabs with feathers on. It is only necessary for you to tweak the necks of the squabs and send them to the train, after they have cooled over night. Some shippers do not take the trouble to box the killed squabs, but tie their legs together with string and send them along to market. In the baggage cars of the trains running into Boston you will sometimes see strings of squabs going in to the dealers in this way. The New York market demands squabs plucked. The squab breeders who have large plants and who ship to the New York market employ pluckers and pay them by the piece. A skillful plucker will strip feathers from squabs at the rate of ten to twenty squabs an hour. The proper time to pluck the killed squab is immediately after killing. When picked clean, throw the squab into cold water and leave it there over night to plump out and harden the flesh. In the summer use ice water. ~The squab puts on more feathers than flesh during the last few days of its growth and if you see squabs which are only three weeks old, but which are of good size, you may save a week on feed by killing the squab at that age and plucking it. When the feathers are off of it, it looks like the four weeks squabs which have not matured so rapidly. If you are shipping to the New York market, you should pack your squabs in a neat white wood box, printed if you please. Do not use a pine box for if you do the odor of the pine will penetrate the squabs. The New York market for squabs is the best in the North. 83 84) NA ONES SIPAGNED AUD Si ORC Peis e510) One Squabs delivered by our customers there invariably bring from one to one dollar and fifty per dozen more than the Boston market. This is because there are more rich people in New York than there are in Boston, and they are more free with their money in providing luxuries for their table than Boston folks. We do not mean to disparage the Boston market for squabs, which is always good, averaging three dollars a dozen, but we wish to emphasize the fact that the New York market is a phenomenal one. Anybody living near New York can make a fortune raising squabs. Our largest orders have come from customers who are shipping to New York. Not all the New York newspapers print market quotation of squabs. The New York Evening Sun is an exception. All through the winter squabs are quoted in the Evening Sun at five dollars a dozen. This means that a squab breeder shipping to New York should have got six dollars and seven dollars for a choice product, from private customers. A correspondent in New: York State sends a clipping from the New York Tribune’s market columns and asks for an interpretation. We quote from it as follows: “ Pigeons, 20c.; squabs, prime, large, white, per doz., $3.50 and itasio: ditto, mtxed. 2.70 andi 3 \chititon saree tiene and $2.” : The quotation, ‘“‘ Pigeons, 20 cents,’ means twenty cents a pair for common old killed pigeons. These tough old birds are occasionally found in the markets and are worth only ten or fifteen cents apiece. They are neither squabs nor the old Homer pigeons, but are common pigeons such as fly in the streets. A small boy might get a pair of these street pigeons and kill them and give them to a butcher who would pay him fifteen or twenty cents a pair. These cheap pigeons come into the eastern markets largely from the West in barrels and are sold to Boston commission men for five cents apiece, or fifty cents a dozen. They are retailed at from one dollar to one dollar and twenty cents a dozen. They are in the Chicago market masquerading as squabs. They have been killed with guns and have shot in their bodies. If you ask for pigeon pie at one of the cheap Boston restaurants, you will get a shot or two against your teeth with mouthfuls. After every trap-shooting contest some skulker goes over the THE MARKETS 85 field and gathers up all the killed and mained birds he can find, and sells them for two and three cents apiece, or for anything he can get, and these find their way into the markets. The cruel practice of pigeon shooting by miscalled ‘“‘sports- men ”’ on Long Island is quite common, and the presence of these birds in the New York butcher shops accounts for the above quotation in the Tribune. It is unnecessary to add that such birds do not compete with squabs. They can be made palatable only by stewing for hours in a pie, which takes out a little of their toughness. There is now a law in New York forbidding pigeon shooting. As to squabs, the quotation, “‘ Prime, large, white, per dozen $3.50 and $3.75,” is for the kind of squabs that are raised from our Homers, namely, No. 1 grade. By the quotation, ‘“‘ Mixed, $2.75 and $3.00,’ is meant that these amounts are paid for lots of birds composed of No. 1 and No. 2 grades, mixed. If you sort up your birds care- fully you will be able to get the No. 1 prices for all. Some people do not know how to sort them, and they have to be satisfied with the price of a mixed lot. By the quotation, “ Dark, $1.75 and $2.00,” is meant the dark-fleshed squabs, as you have learned by reading our Manual. Squabs whose flesh is dark do not sell for as much as the white-fleshed squabs. Pigeons are of all colors, 7. e., as you see their feathers, and the squabs likewise, but when you pluck the feathers off the flesh is either a pure white with a tinge of yellow, or dark like a negro’s skin. Quotations for squabs as found in the market reports in the newspapers are always lower than they really are. The writers of the market columns in the daily papers see only the commission men and cater only to them; they smoke the commission men’s cigars and believe what the commission men tell them. They do not see the producer at all. The object of the commission men is to get the squabs as cheaply as they can. When you are breeding squabs make up your mind to get from twenty-five cents to one dollar or more per dozen than you see quoted in the market reports. The only way to find out the truth about the squab markets is to go into them and offer to buy squabs, not to sell them. Then you will learn the true prices. Jgpud] JSOUL 91B “youl [[e@ AjIveu oie Sqenbs oy, ‘[[euUIS AJeA oIe SouUOd XY, ‘“SNOT[ep pue pUe JSVO} YIM “paTloiq padres ATjensn viv ASI, “JO SLO} Voy VY} YIM ‘s¥ JO SyooM INOJ 7e sqenbs psig -]JoM Jo ssoudumnjd pue ozIs o[qvyIVulel oY} JO VOpl PpooOs & SaATS UOTJBIYSNI][I oy} PUe 1044v[d ASIN} VsIV] & ST SIU, ‘SdVNOS GHSSHUC AHYHL 86 ME VICAR KG TS; 87 At the same time the report quoted above was printed in the New York Tribune a breeder in Mauricetown, N. J., was getting from four dollars and twenty-five cents to four dollars and fifty cents a dozen for his squabs. (This was the last week in January, 1902.) You see, it does not pay to trust wholly to the market reports in the newspapers. The motive of the city men is to get their goods as cheaply as they can. It is your motive to get as much as you can, and don’t be fooled by second-hand information. Go direct to headquarters yourself in person and learn the truth. If the middleman tries to hold down the price to you, go to a consumer and make your bargain with him at top prices. A breeder in New Jersey writes that there are several squab breeders in his town, all of whom give their regular time to other businesses. He continues: “‘I am now (Feb- ruary, 1902), getting thirty-two cents each as they run, no sorting, for what few squabs I am now raising, and they are sold to a man who calls every Tuesday for them. When I have enough, I ship direct to New York by express. They sort them in New York.”’ This is doing extremely well for unsorted squabs. It is only another bit of evidence which proves the money-making condition of the New York market. (The above correspon- dent’s breeders are not first-class, he admits, saying he has been breeding for seven years and his flock has run down.) The Kansas City market does not yet know what a fat squab is.. The only things obtainable there are the squabs of common pigeons, which are quoted low, as they are all over the country. A correspondent in Atchison writes: “‘ I wrote to the Kansas City dealer again, telling him I thought his prices were pretty low for Homer squabs. He replied that they had so few Homers offered that they did not quote them, and they would be worth from two dollars to two dollars and fifty cents per dozen. He quoted common pigeon squabs at one dollar and twenty-five cents to one dollar and seventy-five per dozen, as I wrote you before. That is better, and I want to try raising them as soon as I can get into a place where I can handle them.”’ Fact is, the squabs that bring from three to five dollars a dozen east of the Mississippi will bring that (and more) as soon as the wealthy trade of Kansas City gets a taste of them. 88 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK Find out for yourself whether your market wants squabs with the feathers on or off. We do not know such details about the squab market in every city in the country and can- not advise you accurately on this point if you write to us from a distant town or city. The best way to find out the facts concerning the squab market is to go from place to place, or to write, offering not to sell squabs but to buy them. The squab sellers are much more interested in a possible buyer than a possible seller. They receive letters from many inquirers about markets but as a rule pay scant attention to them unless the writer is really producing squabs and has them for sale. SQUAB #0USE BUILT OF LOGS CG IslBUPIIBIN 2, PIGEONS’ AILMENTS. Canker a Filth Disease which Makes its Appearance in Nasty, Cramped and Crowded Quarters — It is a Captivity Disease and a Sure Cure for it 1s to Turn the Bird Loose to Get a Change of Food and Plenty of Exercise — A Flock Supplied with Pure Food and Clean Water Never will be Sick — Canker 1s Not Epidemic —It does Not Pay to Dose a Sick Pigeon, Better Turn it Out to Get Well. The principal ailment met with by the squab breeder is canker. This ailment is a puzzle to some breeders and they are alarmed when it makes an appearance in their flock, as it does if the feed is poor or sour, the water dirty, or the squab house filthy. The advice which they give when they find a cankered bird is, “Kill it.” That is the advice we used to give at first, but now we know better. First, what is canker? It is a disease of which you know the cause (filth, poor feed or dirty water) and whose symptoms you see in the form of a cheesy-like deposit in the mouth of the pigeon, and breaking out around the bill. Catch the pigeon, hold it in your lap and force open its bill and you will see a yellowish patch or patches in the mouth, and the mouth will usually be filled with a yellowish deposit which smells bad. The disease is not serious. The trouble lies with the feed and the filth and that is what spreads the same symptoms from one pigeon to another. A case of canker in your flock should be a warning to you that the feed or water is wrong, or that you have a filthy house. Do not get alarmed and kill the bird. Catch the affected pigeon, carry it out of your flying pen and squab house and throw it into the air. The bird may fly away and lose itself, and if it does you are out one pigeon just as if you had killed it. The chances are, however, as in the case of any sick animal, that it will linger around home. Now you will be surprised to see how quickly that pigeon’s health will improve. Not having a steady supply of food before it, it will have to hustle for a living, and this exercise and the change of living, and the scanty living, will effect the 89 PAIR OF HOMERS BILLING. This illustration is made from a photograph of a pair of our pigeons caught in the act of billing, or kissing. The pigeon on the left is the male and on the right the female. Billing is one of the acts of love making. Mounting and treading generally follow immediately after billing. 90 PIGEONS’ AILMENTS 91 cure. It will get more fresh air, and a great deal more exercise, and more sun, than it would get if left in company with the other birds. In about a week you will notice that it will hold its bill tighter, and if there is a sore on the outside of the bill you will see this sore dry up. In two weeks the chances are that the yellowish deposit on the interior of the mouth will be entirely gone. The pigeon will hover around the other pigeons. It will fly to the outside of the netting and look at its fellows. Place a dish on the ground now and then with a little feed and you will attract it. Catch it when you have a favorable opportunity either with a net on the end of a pole, or with a broom, pinning it into a corner. You may have to try several times, but you will get it after a while. Its eye will be brighter and signs of disease will be gone, and you can put it back into the squab house with the others. The exer- cise, sunlight, change of food, and scanty food, have made the cure. There are few pigeons so bad with canker that they cannot be cured in this way. For that reason we have not much hesitation in saying that canker is a captivity disease, caused by lack of exercise as well as unavoidable filth and too much of the wrong kind of feed. We have observed wild pigeons in the streets and we never saw a case of canker among them. You may say to yourself that it is quite a risk to throw out into the open air a pigeon which has cost you from seventy-five cents to a dollar, but it is better to do this than to take the advice of all other breeders and books and kill it. If you do not wish to throw a sick pigeon out into the air to get well, construct a box with wire netting over the front, and put the pigeon in there for special feeding and watering until it gets well. Powdered alum sprinkled in the drinking water now and then will tend to ward off canker from a flock. It does not pay to dose sick pigeons, because a cure seldom is obtained by dosing, and you are out your time. The squab breeder who follows the advice as to feed and water, and cleanliness of squab house, given in this Manual, will not have any sick pigeons. It is so very easy to keep a pigeon in perfect health that the fear of disease is a bugbear not worth taking into account. The element of disease is a constant source of worry to the chicken breeder, and a source of heavy loss to the best of then. We wish to assure all who G2 NATO NAVE RS TAN DATO TSOrO is) 0. Oe contemplate starting in the squab breeding business that the pigeon naturally is a healthier and more rugged bird than the domestic hen and that positively you will not be fussing with remedies and cure-alls, in handling them. ‘“ Going light,” or wasting away, is an ailment of pigeons occasionally met with. The cause of it is an absence of grit and salt. If your staples of feed are provided as we tell, and you give a variety of feed, and you provide grit and oyster shells, you will have no cases of “ going light.” The disease is known by a steady wasting away of the pigeon. Catch it and you feel a prominent breastbone, and scanty flesh, showing that some element in the feed is lacking. Gla AJP TIBI, XI, GETTING AHEAD. Make your Birds Pay for themselves as they Go Along, unless you Wish to Wait Patiently until a Small Flock Increases to a Large One — Better to Take the Money Made jrom Sale of Squabs and Buy More Adult Birds than to Raise the Squabs, Because it 1s a Long Jump from Four Weeks (the Killing Age) to Six Months, at which Age the Birds Begin Breeding — Shipping Points. It is the birds and not the buildings which count in squab raising and if you have fifty dollars to start, put thirty-five dollars or forty dollars into your birds and the balance into your building. We have had customers start with a hundred- - dollar building and put a ten-dollar lot of birds into it, con- tinuing to buy ten-dollar lots of us about once a month until they had their flock to a good size, but we believe it is best to let the buildings follow the birds, and not the birds the buildings. In other words, let your birds earn buildings as they go along. It is quite a drag on a small flock to weigh it down with an expensive building much too large for it. Put this down in your mind solid, where you will not forget it: Make your pigeons pay for themselves as they go.» ~ We sell to a great many poultrymen, and we like to get their orders, for they have been through the mill of raising feathered animals and are practical, and they are quick to see the money in squabs, and when their order for breeding stock comes along, it is in nine cases out of ten a large order, even if they have had no previous experience. They know that in order to sell squabs they have got to have birds enough to breed squabs and it is just as easy for them to spend fifty dollars or one hundred dollars at the start as it is for them to spend ten dollars or fifteen dollars and use up one hundred dollars’ worth of time while waiting a year to begin selling squabs. Many beginners are so skeptical that they do not believe squabs grow to market size in one month, or they have no confidence in their ability to feed the mature birds so as to keep them alive. They wish to make a start with a few pairs 93 04> NATIONALE SLAIN DARDS OC Wa One and actually convince themselves. We do not believe in untried hands plunging into something of which they know nothing, and we commend the caution of the beginner with squabs who wishes to feel his way and “ make haste slowly ” as the saying 1s, nevertheless we know it to be a fact that our customers who started with large flocks are making splendid successes, and we are not so cautious as we were in former books in advising a small purchase, at the start. The rules for breeding we have given have stood the test of time; we have not had it said to us that they are misleading or erroneous; on the contrary, our customers write and tell us that their experience corresponds with ours, that the books are all right, and our business has increased right along. When a customer orders two hundred dollars’ worth of breeding stock of us and two months later two hundred dollars’ worth more (we sell to some customers month after month steadily, as their means or their inclination permit them to buy) we are given a large measure of confidence, first, that people (many of whom we never see and who are not experts) can start with our writings and our breeding stock and make a success; second, that all we have advised about the industry is of general and con- vincing application; and third, that it does not take extraor- dinary skill to make a success with squabs. There are failures with squabs, even by college professors, because some beginners are unsuited to the business. Many are lured into it by get-rich-quick stories. It would amaze you to read the letters that some beginners write. You never can tell a man’s pigeon and poultry ability by his orthography and grammar. Letters in crude spelling and crooked writing frequently come from the most successful squab raisers. The knack of caring for animals successfully cannot be acquired by some. Given two women, with cooking materials and the same cook books, one cooks splendidly, and the other mis- erably. Why? Well, it is the same with pigeons. Some can and some can’t. However, the failures at squab or poultry raising seldom blame themselves. There are many of the naturally careless, improvident persons who have turned to squabs to help them out of finan- cial holes, and they have made a failure of squab raising. Many of us remember the furore over raising chicken broilers for market, which started a score of years ago. The fact that GEN IWONG Aicla AND 95 some were making money at it started a burning hen fever in hundreds of young and old people anxious to make a lot of money quick. Clerks and society women from New York moved into the suburbs on small farms and began to try to make realities of their dreams. Not accustomed to manual labor, they made a sorry mess of it. Writers of that period tell of chicken gentlemen and ladies who went about their daily round of duties with their delicate hands carefully pro- tected by kid gloves. It did not take long for the end for such experimenters to arrive. They returned to the great city sadder, but wiser. The squab industry has suffered also the past five years from such treatment. Many have played with it as a child would with a new toy, giving up their pigeons in a few months at the slightest discouragement. The past six years are strewn with the wrecks of imitation squab advertisers and their guarantees. Every spring, when demand for breeders is greatest, some of these come to life again, or new ones crop up, and they get what harvest they can, many of them selling what they can pick up in the way of culls, such as we ourselves sell to Faneuil Hall marketmen to be killed. These advertisers start advertising in January and by June they have quit. The following, from the pen of an old poultry writer, appeared in a farm periodical of large circulation in January, 1907: “So far, every attempt made in this country to estab- lish a large poultry (chicken) farm has been met by failure. The extensive and successful plants of today are the outcome of a small beginning and a gradual growth. True, the main cause for failure has been the lack of experience; men have undertaken work for which they were not qualified.” So it is the rule with squab and poultry failures, especially women, to blame everybody but themselves. Such persons learn bitterly that experience is indeed a factor. The place and flock of the one who fails with squabs tell their own story. The drinking fountains are seldom washed, the pen is seldom cleaned and the place has a run-down look generally, sometimes being positively filthy. The grain is bought and fed on the catch-as-catch-can principle with no provision for variety. The cheapest grain is bought, or it is ignorantly bought, and may be full of weevils, or sour. The owner of such a place generally matches the place. 96 NATIONAL SPAIN ATCO ES OU ACs 50 Oike Some advertisers selling breeding stock try to give the impression in their advertising that they control the matings and love affairs of the pigeons they sell, to the uttermost degree. “‘ We are the ones who can start you right,” they say, ‘with our guaranteed mated pairs.” Their pigeons, how- ever, behave just the same as all pigeons. You have just as much control over the minds of your pigeons as anybody. We have the finest equipment for mating in America, as it is the largest, a thousand mating coops being in constant use. One of the buildings is heated by a hot-water plant so as to get quick results in mating in the winter. It is natural for pigeons to breed, same as all animals. Do not believe that the man who offers to sell you pigeons has it in his power to control them after they have left his hands. The control of your pigeons is in your hands absolutely. If vou raise an excess of cocks, or if you have an excess of either sex, for any reason, you should procure enough of the opposite sex to match up evenly. You should have some mating coops (ordinary boxes with wire fronts will do) and in them you should pair up birds to suit yourself as to color of plumage, or size, or special characteristics, as you raise them. We fill all orders, large or small, with equal care and thoroughness, for it is just as much to our interest to please the customer and get more orders in the one case as in the other. There is not much choice as to what time of year a start in Squab breeding should be made. Our customers who start in the winter have been exceptionally successful because then prices for squabs’are at the top notch, and it takes only a few sales to make a-new breeder thoroughly convinced to go ahead to success. We ship breeders all the year round. A pigeon will not break down under either stifling heat or bitter cold, being different from other animals. We fill orders in rotation and treat customers alike, and ship promptly. Frequently we get orders to ship by first returning express, and it is very difficult to do this. One customer in Chicago planned to start for Alaska with twelve pairs of our birds, but he held back his letter so that we got it with only two hours to fill crates and get birds to him before his departure. We filled his order as a matter of accommoda- tion. GIST IIING Ague AUD 97 In ordering supplies to be sent by freight, remember that it takes a freight shipment some time to get to destination, especially when traffic is congested in the spring or in the harvest season. Give us your order for nest bowls and supplies before your house is ready. The live breeders are shipped by us either in specially made pine crates or wicker coops. The wicker coops remain our property and are returned to us at our expense by the express companies after the customer has released the pigeons. These baskets are expensive and are fitted with large tin feed and water dishes. It is impossible to break them open with the roughest handling. The birds have plenty of room in them and arrive at their destination in fine condition. The usual fault of inexperienced shippers is that the box or crate is too high, and too large, giving an opportunity for one bird to pass another by flying over its head. If there is too much room between the top and bottom of the crate feathers will be rumpled and pulled out, and the birds by crowding will suffocate one or two. A large, heavy crate also adds enormously to the express charges. It is not pleasant to buy pigeons and receive them in a cumbrous box weighing from twenty-five to seventy-five pounds, on which the express charges are more than double what they would be were the birds crated properly. If the birds are going to a point only a day or a day anda night distant, they need no feed nor water. For a long journey, a bag of grain should be tied to the crate. It is the duty of the express messengers to feed and water the birds en route, and they are so instructed by their companies. Do you know that pigeons are transported by the express companies at the rate charged for ordinary merchandise under the classification in force for 1907 on’? The rate is found in every express book (ask your agent to show it to you if there is any dispute over charges) now as follows: “‘ Pigeons, homing, merchandise rate.’’ Tell the agent to look in the P’s for Pigeons and he will find it there. For carrying most live-stock short distances, the animal rate (which is double the merchandise rate) is charged. This is a peculiar rule when it was formerly applied to pigeons, and it worked so that the buyer at a remote point got his ship- ment cheaper than the buyer nearer us. For instance, we HOW WE SHIP PIGEONS. Care and skill exercised in shipping live pigeons are large factors in satisfying customers. It is not a pleasant experience to send money away for pigeons and have them reach you in a home-made box, generally of enormous weight, and bearing enormous express charges. We originated the above style of shipping and have two thousand shipping baskets in use. They are expensive but by their use we are able to guarantee safe arrival. The customer receives his shipment in faultless condition. The small bag of grain on top of the basket, tied to it, is for the use of the express- man in feeding the birds en route. The tin water dish is at the end of the basket, outside, where it ought to be, not inside. These shipping baskets remain our property and are returned to us empty at our expense after the customer has released his birds. CEIMUENG SAE AD 99 could ship a crate of pigeons to Chicago from Boston cheaper than we could to Buffalo. All the express companies doing business in the United States and Canada have the same rule, which is, that between points where the single or merchandise rate is two dollars or more per hundred pounds, live animals, boxed, crated or caged, are charged for transportation at the single or merchandise rate. Between points where the single or merchandise rate is less than two dollars per hundred pounds, live animals are charged the animal rate (which is double the merchandise rate). Poultry (not pigeons) are charged the one and one-half rate when the rate per one hun- dred pounds is less than two dollars. In order to obtain the lowest rate of transportation, the value of each pigeon must be stated by the shipper at five dollars or less. We have seen breeders who have been shipping live-stock for years and they never heard of the above rule of the express companies, and also we have seen scores of express agents who did not know of their own rule, but always charged the animal rate on animal shipments. But the rule is found in every graduated charge book of every express company and the experienced expressmen and experienced shippers know all about it. If the agent in your town is ignorant of the rule, ask him for his graduated charge book. Many express agents at local points seldom handle a pigeon ship- ment and do not know how to charge for it. A live animal contract release, to be signed both by shipper and express agent, is needed in all cases where the value of each pigeon is more than five dollars. If pigeons which we ship are killed in a smash-up, we can recover from the com- pany. We have no hesitation, therefore, in guaranteeing the safe delivery of our pigeons to customers. Our respon- sibility does not end when we have given them to the express- man. Our guarantee follows them as long as they are in the hands of the express company. We will put them into your hands safe and sound. Once in a while you will read of live-stock and breeding associations getting together and complaining about the “ exorbitant rates ’’ charged by the express companies. The trouble is not with the rates of the express companies, but lies wholly in the ignorance of the breeders who meet to complain. L. OFC, 100) NATIONAL SiAN DARDS S O10 705 5 OOK They simply do not know how to ship and how to talk to the express agents. ‘ We never read the above advice as to shipping live-stock in any book or paper. It is the product of our own experience and the information cost us at least one hundred dollars in excess charges before we learned how to get the low rate. It is worth dollars to our customers, and that is why we have given it here in detail. Killed squabs go to market at the rate charged for ordinary merchandise, no matter what the distance. Breeders having special customers who wish the squabs plucked should pack them in a clean white wood box (with ice in the summer) and nail the box up tight. Such shipments go through in splendid condition and if the breeder has a choice article, with his trade mark stamped on the box, he gets the fancy price. Squabs which reach the Boston market from jobbers in Philadelphia and New York are plucked and packed with ice in barrels. Breeders around Boston who reach the Boston market with undressed squabs send them in wicker hampers or baskets on the morning of the day after they are killed. No express agent anywhere has a right to make any extra charges whatever on our pigeon shipments. There is no duty on our pigeons to Canada, Cuba or Porto Rico, when we send with the pigeons and also to the customer, as we do, a certificate of purity of breed, declaring that the pigeons are for breeding, and not to be killed for market. Cl AIP TNR 20UC. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Women and Squab Breeding — Attentions of the Male to the Female Pigeon — Equal Number of Males and Females — Birds Flying Wild—Sale of Birds for Flyers — Variation im Size of Nest Boxes— How Squabs are Artificially Fattened — Shipping to England — Training Flyers — A Remarkable Service for Messages between Islands. Question. I am a woman who knows absolutely nothing of squab raising. Do you think I can make a success of it? Answer. Our books are written and printed for the purpose of telling an absolutely ignorant person just how to proceed. If you will study this Manual, until you get the general plan and method of procedure in your mind, there is no reason why you cannot make a success of it. A woman is quick enough to puzzle out a new pattern of embroidery or a blind cooking recipe the terms of which are expressed in language utterly incomprehensible toa man. We find that our women customers are just as quick to comprehend pigeons as soon as they get started. It is necessary to have confidence, first, that the birds can make money, and second, that you are able to handle them right. Women succeed with hens quite as well as men. They “take” to animals fully as well as men. The fact that you, our customer, are a woman, ought to encourage rather than depress you, in the squab business. Question. I have an old poultry house fifteen by twenty feet in size, ten feet high. How many pairs of pigeons can I accommodate? Answer. We have this question asked us many times, and our reply to all is the same. Sometimes the customer varies it by askinsz, How large a house do I need to accommodate one hundred pairs of breeders? Sometimes they say they propose remodeling a barn loft which is thirty by twenty feet in size. The dimensions of the building vary with the customer. You can always accommodate in theory as many pairs of breeders as you can make room for pairs of nest boxes. Fix up your building to suit yourself, and put in 101 OZ) 9 INS IPILOUNTBUL, SITU INUDAURID! “SQ (WAUS} BOOK as many nest boxes as you wish. Then count your nest boxes and you will know how many birds you can accommo- date. You must have two nest boxes for every pair of birds. Always allow more nest boxes than there are pigeons, and do not crowd the birds, as we have explained on page 29. Question. How does the male bird impregnate the female bird? They do not seem to me to act as roosters and hens do. Answer. The human eye is not sharp and quick enough to follow the actions of the male bird. He mounts the female in a manner which is called “‘ treading.’’ A female occasion- ally will “‘ tread” the male bird, exactly as a female animal when in excessive heat sometimes will mount the male, or another female. Customers who had what they thought was a doubtful pair sometimes have written us saying that each would tread the other, and that of course both were males. After a while the same customer would write and say that the pair fooled him and that he had two eggs from them. The actions are in nine cases out of ten, of course, a positive guide, but there are exceptions to every rule. Question. (1) The legs of the pigeon you sent me are red; are they inflamed? (2) The droppings are soft and mushy; I am afraid they have diarrhoea. What shall I do? (8) Most of my pigeons have a warty-like substance on their bills, varying in size with the pigeon; how shall I get rid of it? Answer. (1) The red color which you see is perfectly natural. The legs of all Homer pigeons are red. (@) The natural droppings of the pigeon are soft and somewhat loose. When they have diarrhoea the droppings are extremely watery and the tail feathers are soiled. Your pigeons are all right and have no diarrhoea. (3) The growth of which you speak is perfectly natural. It varies in size with the pigeon, sometimes covering the base of the bill, in other cases clinging closely to it. Question. Can I figure with certainty that of each pair of squabs which my birds hatch, one is a male and the other a female? Answer. Not with absolute certainty, but as.a rule. It is Nature’s way to provide for an equal number of males and females, for that is the way the species mates and is reproduced. Question. Enclosed find ten dollars, for which please send me settings of pigeon eggs to that value, and send me the balance due, if any. Answer. We do not sell pigeon eggs. Q WIBSTMOINS AINID) BAIN SWISS) 103 It is impossible to use an incubator and raise pigeons success- fully, because there is no way of feeding the young squabs when they are hatched. The life of squabs is nourished and prolonged from day to day by the parent birds, which feed them. To raise squabs, you must start by buying the adult breeders. You cannot start with the eggs. Question. It seems to me that if each pair of squabs hatched consists of male and female, that this couple is likely to pair when grown, being well acquainted with each other. This would be inbreeding and would weaken my flock. What shallI do? Answer. It is not the plan of the species to mate and inbreed like this. If brother and sister mated as you describe, the species would be extinct after a while. They will look for new mates as soon as they get out of the nest and are of breeding age. Question. When are the young pigeons old enough to mate? Answer. At from four to six months. Question. My birds do not know enough to go in from the roof of the squab house when it rains. How shall I get them in? Answer. Let them stay on the roof in the rain if they wish. The rain will do them no harm. Question. Must I heat the squab house in the winter time? Answer. No. The heat from a flock of pigeons in a well- built house is considerable. You will get more squabs from your pigeons in the winter time if you do heat your house slightly, not enough to cause much expense, but just enough to take the chill off. Do not let your birds out of the squab house on bitter cold days. Question. I live in Texas and [| think in this climate your squab house would be too warm and stuffy. Answer. You are right. Adapt the construction to your locality. The poultry houses in Texas as compared to those in the North are much less expensive and more open to the air, and your squab house should be built on the same principle. Question. Suppose I cool the squabs as you direct and pack them into a box for shipment, shall I useice? Is there any danger that the meat will be discolored when they arrive at market? Answer. Ice is not necessary in the fall, winter and spring. In the summer time you should use ice, although if the shipment is for a short distance, ice may not be necessary. In hot weather the squabs should not be killed until the night 104 NAC ROINTAES STeAGN DARDS) Oras mian@) Orie before shipping. In the cool months you may keep them at home longer. If the squabs are cooled by hanging them from studding as we describe, there is no danger that the meat will be discolored. The object of hanging them from studding is to cool the carcasses properly so that the meat will not be discolored by contact. Question. How shall I pack the killed squabs when I send them to market? Answer. Lay them-in the box layer on layer, in an orderly fashion. Do not throw them in helter skelter. Question. Can I hang the squabs to cool from studding suspended in the barn, in the summer time? Answer. It is better to use the cellar of the house, or the coolest room in the house. Question. I do not like your idea of keeping the birds wiredin. They are free by nature and it strikes me that they should have a chance to get exercise by long flights. Answer. You must keep them wired in, or they may leave you. Re- member that the Homer is attached to the place where it is bred, that is the Homer instinct. If you buy birds of us and on opening the crate let them fly anywhere they choose, trusting to luck to have them come back to you, you may be disappointed and lose some of the birds. You must keep them wired in all the time. Question. You say your Homers are fine flyers. What is the use of my buying them of you to fly in races or to sell again as flyers, if they may desert me when I let them out into the open air? Answer. The squabs which you breed from our birds will know no home but yours, and they will not fly away from you. You can send them away, when they are old enough, and time their flight back to your house, their home. When you sell these trained flyers to others, you do not expect that they will try to fly them, but that they will use them for breeders. Question. How large are the mating coops? Answer. A convenient size is two feet long, two feet wide and two feet high. Question. My birds seem timid and I am afraid to catch them. How shall I go about it? Answer. Do not be afraid of hurting them. Take a broom and drive one where you will, finally pinning it against the side of the squab house, or OUWIES TIONS BAUINID AUN SWAIGIECS 105 in acorner. Grasp it and hold its wings firmly and it will not struggle. Or you may make a net on the end of a pole, like an ordinary fish landing net, and scoop the bird into it as it flies through the air. Question. Suppose I have several squab houses, as you describe, but let all the birds together in one large flying pen, where they can bathe from one large fountain. Answer. This is all right if you do not wish to keep close track of your birds. If the birds can roam from one house to another, there is nothing to prevent a pair from building one nest on one house and then going to another house to build the second nest. Question. 1 believe I will put a strip of wire or piece of wood across the front of each nest box so as to keep each pair more secluded, and to keep the nests from dropping out. Answer. Don’t do it. Don’t worry about the nests falling out. Build the pigeon-holes perfectly plain. Question. How many squabs shall I pack in one box when sending to market? Answer. Having picked out the size of the box you wish, fill it up close with squabs, so they will not “shuck.”’ As to the size of the box, make it as big or little as you please, but do not make it any bigger than one expressman can handle easily. A good size is two feet square and one foot deep. Question. Send me two males and ten females. Answer. You must buy your birdsin pairs. They pair off in this way, namely, one male to one female. One male does not have two or three females. We have heard pigeon breeders talk of having one cock which would attend two hens, but never had a case in our experience. Question. After plucking the squab, and before sending it to market, do you remove the entrails? Answer. No. Question. In order to avoid the trouble of using the mating coop, may I put an equal number of cocks and hens in the same pen? Answer. Yes. Question. Can I discover the male and female organs by examination of the birds with a magnifying glass? Answer. No. You can discover them by dissecting the dead bird. Question. Suppose I build the nest boxes larger, so as to give a shelf on which the birds can alight? Answer. Don’t doit. The bird will fly directly into the nest, or onto the nest 1067 NATO NAVE SAAGN EDAD SOUZA aes OONG box in front of the nest. You do not need an alighting place. Question. Seems to me that if I start with forty-eight pairs of birds, I ought to have ninety-six perches. Answer. The birds do not all perch at the same time. While some are perching, others are on the nests, or walking on the floor, or are outside in the flying pen, or on the roof. Put up a few perches where you have room and let it go at that. Question. I livein England; can you ship me twenty-four pairs of your breeders? Amswer. Yes; the transportation charges will be four dollars. In addition you will have to pay the butcher or steward of the boat ten shillings for feeding and watering the birds. Send us six dollars and fifty cents in addition to the regular price of the birds and we will ship to you all charges prepaid. In shipping to Cuba and remote points in the United States and Canada, we do not have to pay anything extra for the feeding and watering of the birds; the express charges include the feeding and watering. Question. What is a Runt pigeon? Please quote prices on a dozen pairs of Runts. Answer. A Runt pigeon is a special breed of pigeon, remarkable for its large size. They come all colors, as a Homer does. The white Runts are an exceptionally beautiful bird and command large prices, as high as six dollars to fifteen dollars a pair. The squabs which Runts breed weigh from eighteen ounces to one and one-half pounds at four weeks. If Runts bred as fast as Homers, they would be just the bird for squab breeders, but they are fatally slow in breeding, as a rule. The Homers raise two pairs of squabs to the Runts’ one. Therefore it is of course more profitable to raise Homers.. We do not sell Runts and do not advocate their use either as a separate breed, or crossed up with Homers. The large, plump, thoroughbred Homer is the best. Question. What is the difference between the Homer and Antwerp breeds of pigeons? Answer. No difference. The name is used interchangeably to apply to the same breed of pigeon. In New England we speak of them mostly as Homers. In some places they are called more often Antwerps. Question. Can I feed some of my squabs by hand if nec- essary? Answer. Yes. Mix up a mushy, soft handful of grain, hold the squab in the left hand, close to your body, and with the thumb and first finger of your right hand force the OQOLES ENO INS AWNED) PAGNISI WEISS: 107 mixture into the bill. The squab will swallow and fill its crop. A backward squab may be forced in this manner. Question. Can you sell me twelve pairs of young Homers, about eight weeks old? Amswer. No. It is impossible to tell the sex of pigeons of that age. Any breeder who under- takes to furnish squabs several weeks old in equal males and females cannot do so and is imposing on you. Question. Please give recipes for cooking squabs. An- swer. See the cook books. Squabs are generally served broiled. They should be drawn, singed and washed. Cut off the heads, split into two parts, season, put on a lump of butter and broil over a hot fire. Place close to the fire at first so as to brown the outside and retain the juices, then hold further away from the fire to complete the cooking. If roasted, leave them in a hot oven for thirty minutes. For roasting, squabs may be stuffed with cranberries or currants. Baste every ten minutes with spoonfuls of hot water and butter. Question. How shall I train the young birds raised from your Homers to fly? Amswer. There is a large business in flying Homers and if you have a-pen or two of trained birds you can sell them at fancy prices. There are homing clubs all over the country which have contests and it is worth while for a breeder to work for a reputation of breeding and selling fast flyers. The young Homers when five months old are strong enough to be trained to fly. Take them in a basket (having omitted to feed them) a mile or two away, and liberate them one by one. They will circle in the air, then choose the correct course. You should have left grain for them as a reward for their safe arrival home, and an induce- ment for their next experience in flying. Two or three days later take or send them away five miles and repeat. Next try ten miles, and so work on by easy stages up to seventy- five or one hundred miles. If you have a friend in another city, you may send your birds in a basket to him with instruc- tions to liberate certain ones at certain hours, or you may send the basket by train to any express agent, along with a letter telling him to liberate the birds at a certain hour and send the basket back to you. . If you wish to have the birds carry a message, write it on a piece of cigarette paper (or any strong tissue), wrap the paper around the leg of the bird and SELF-FEEDER FOR GRAIN. This trough gives excellent satisfaction with us. We do not sell it, but will tell you how to have it made. It is four feet long. At the bottom of this page you will see a sectional view of it. The grain is put into the Hopper, H. It drops in the direction indicated by the arrows into the spaces, AA, where it is eaten by the birds. As fast as they eat, more drops down. ‘The strip through which they stick their heads is three inches wide and the slots are cut one and one-half inches wide. The V at the bottom of the trough is made from a solid piece of four by four. It is solid so that rats cannot get inside of it and hide and pilfer the grain. The inch-square pieces at the front of the bottom prevent the birds from pecking the grain out upon the floor. One-inch lumber is used in the construction for every part except the slot-boards, BB, which are three-eighths inch thick. The top and ottom are of twelve-inch boards, the sides of ten-inch boards. The top is held in place by a hook and eye at each end as pictured. The trough will hold from three days’ to two weeks’ supply of grain, depending on the size of the flock. Put the trough not in the flying pen, but inside the squab house. Or, you may build a half-trough (slot-board down one side only) and set it in the passageway, and it will fill the space between the lower tier of nest boxes and the floor. Here it may be filled from the passageway, and you will not have to enter the unit pen. We have tried all kinds of self-feeders and recommend this pattern as the best of all. If you adopt it in connection with the dowel system (illustrated on previous page) your dowels will be used only behind the drinker, this trough taking up four feet of the rest of the space. Make it either longer or shorter than four feet, to suit the size of your flock, if you wish. QWIES TIONS ANID: AINSWWIEIES 109 tie with thread, or fasten with glue or a stamp; or, you may tie the tissue around one of the tail feathers. A thin alu- minum tube containing the message may be fastened to a leg, or to a tail feather. A trap window should be constructed to time the arrival home of birds. This is an aperture about six inches square closed by wires hanging from a piece of wood at the top of the aperture and swinging inward, but held close to the aperture by its own weight. The pigeon cannot fly out but on its return home (if you have sprinkled grain on the inside of the house, next the wires) the bird will push the wire door and goin. It takes only a day or two for the pigeon to become accustomed to the trap. If you connect the trap with a simple make-and-break electric circuit, the pigeon on its arrival home from its flight will ring a bell in any part of your house or barn. When you have a record of the flyers, you will have a guide for mating. The majority of fanciers recommend a medium-sized Homer. A large hen should be mated to a small cock, or a large cock to a small hen. What is perhaps the best pigeon service in the world has been in use for several years between Newton Roads, Auckland, New Zealand, and the Great Barrier and Maro Tiro Islands, some seventy-five miles distant. A boy of sixteen years worked up the service and makes a large income from it. About twenty messages an hour are carried back and forth by the Homers. A year ago the government declared its intention of laying a cable from Auckland to Great Barrier. The project was abandoned, however, as the residents of the little island decided that they were well pleased with the pigeons, and that a cable would not be patronized. The government offered to buy the whole pigeon outfit from the boy owner, but he refused. There are from four hundred to five hundred pairs of pigeons in the service. Question. In the case of young birds mated up for the first time at five or six months of age, is it best to destroy the first eggs, or let them go ahead and hatch in the regular way? Answer. Let them go ahead and hatch and learn to feed their young. It will improve them for the next hatch. Question.. Please describe the self-feeder more fully and explain its operation. Answer. The hopper of the feeder is V-shaped so that the grain will fall by its own weight to the centre at the bottom, which is cut away as. shown in the IGS INALIAOUIN AE, SIP AUN TD AUKID) SQ) AUS. IEOOUE. illustration so that as the birds peck up the grain, more falls from the hopper. The slit where the birds eat should be about an inch and a half in width, just enough to prevent the grain from running out faster than itis eaten. If the grain is pulled out on the floor, tack a strip of wood, like a lath, so as partly to block the holes. Question. Should I cover the yard of the flying pen with your grit? Answer. No. Providea box and keep our grit in the box. When the pigeons want grit, they will go to the box and get it. Question. Are the carrier (flying) pigeons the same breed as your Homers? Answer. Yes. A flying or carrier Homer is a Homer that has been trained to fly a long distance. Question. What are artificially fattened squabs? An- swer. An artificially fattened squab is a squab which has been stuffed by hand. Take a syringe and fill it with fattening mixture of gruel-like consistency, open the mouth of the squab and force the contents of the syringe into the crop of the squab. Very few breeders take this trouble to bring their squabs to an extraordinary size. Question. I wish you had shipped my breeders in one large crate, then the express charges would not have been so much as for the two crates which you used. Answer. You are mistaken. An express shipment goes by weight and not by number of packages. The express clerks put all the crates going to one customer on the scales together and weigh them all at once and on the total weight the charge is based. They prefer to handle a large shipment in small packages, rather than in one large package. Question. Can I use the upper part of my henhouse for - pigeons, and if so will the pigeons interfere in the flying pen with the hens? Answer. You may use the upper part of your henhouse and the pigeons will not be harmed by the hens, nor the hens by the pigeons. It is best to build the flying pen in two stories so that the pigeons cannot fly into the henhouse to try to nest. Question. To save room, I would like to build my pigeon house in two stories. Answer. That is all right. Build the top flying pen out over and extending beyond the bottom flying pen if you wish to separate the flocks on the ground floor from the flocks upstairs. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ILL Question. What are the bands for pigeons’ legs and how are they applied? Answer. The seartess band is a ring of aluminum three-eighths of an inch in diameter and from three-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch in width. You cannot apply it to an old pigeon. It is put on either leg of a squab when the squad is four or five days old, by squeezing the toes of the squab through the band. As the leg of the squab grows, it becomes impossible to remove the band except by cutting it off On the band, before putting it on the leg of the squab, you may stamp year of birth and your initials, or anything you choose. We sell an outfit consisting of aluminum tubing, dies, etc., by which the squab breeder may make his own bands at a cost of two or three for a cent. Question. Since I bought twelve pairs of you, I have kept a careful account of the feed, and find as you state that five cents a month for a pair of breeders is right. Grain has been much higher than usual this summer and it strikes me that under normal conditions of the grain market the cost of a pair of squab breeders would be less than five cents a month, or sixty cents a year. Answer. Our figures of cost were ascertained not by “‘ skimping”’ the birds, but feeding them liberally, and an estimate of five cents a month for a pair is based on a low cost of grain, and on selling the manure. Question. What pattern of trowel do you recommend for cleaning the nest bowls and nest boxes? Answer. The common trowel such as bricklayers use is too pointed. The best pattern has a square point and a stout blade with strong handle. With such a trowel you can clean out the nest bowls and nest boxes very effectively. Question. Can pigeons be raised on the sea-coast as well as inland? Answer. Yes; the Homer pigeon is descended from a variety of pigeon which first bred among the cliffs bordering the sea-shore. Question. Do the squabs fly out of the nest before they are four weeks old? Answer. No; they look old enough to fly at four weeks, and their wings seem all ready for use, but they stay in the nest and are fed by the parent birds, and when you wish to kill them you find both in the nest ready for you. Question. Your book states that pigeons sometimes lay their eggs on the floor. But it does not say anything about taking the eggs and putting them in a nést bowl. Would the I IN ISI OINEAIE, SIL ANID AURID) SQ WUAUE JBOIO IK birds follow their eggs and accept change of nest from floor to nest bowl? Answer. No; you must leave the eggs where they lay them. You can handle a nest and change eggs from one nest bowl to another, if you wish, but you cannot move eggs from one place in the squab house to another and expect the birds to find them and go on with their laying. Question. Do all squab breeders heat their houses in the winter time; I mean those who do a large business like your- self. Answer. No; some breeders of many years’ experience believe that a warm house is detrimental to the health of the birds, on account of the sudden change of temperature from a warm house to a cold flying pen. The object should be merely to take the damp winter chill off the air. If you have a warm, tight squab house which you will close when night comes, you will need no heat. Question. In the case of a long house, say four units long, should there be wire netting partitions between the units, so as to separate the birds into four flocks? Amswer. Such an arrangement is more practical than one long house. It is better to keep track of four small flocks than one large flock. You can keep account of the birds both on paper, and with your eyes, with more precision. Question. How would a cement floor for the squab house do? Answer. Do not use cement. See page 43 again. Question. How is salt cat made? Amswer. Take sixteen quarts of sand, eight quarts of slaked lime, four quarts of ground oyster shells, one pint of salt, one pint of caraway seeds and mix with water into a stiff mud. ~ Form into bricks and set away to dry. The water with which you mix should have a tablespoonful of sulphate of iron and a tablespoonful of sulphuric acid for tonic and disinfectant. The birds peck at this mixture and it is believed to have a tonic and strength- ening effect on them. Question. Shall I crowd one of the units with nest boxes, or would it be better to have a smaller number of nest boxes and build another unit to accommodate the new birds which I am going to buy? Answer. Better enlarge your squab house. In case of doubt, you will be on the safer side if you do not crowd the birds. (See following pages for points which may occur to you and which are not covered in these questions and answers.) S WIP IP IL IF IMC I, IN I NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK. By Eumer C. RICE. Every year shows a healthy growth in the squab industry and in our business, which has become the largest in the world in the pigeon or poultry line, and is expanding steadily, requiring every little while new buildings, larger business of- fices, more help—and the growth is going steadily on, with every prospect of a like Increase the coming year. On, April 1, 1904, to get more room for the Boston office, we were obliged to move from No. 9 Friend street, and are now located at 287 Atlantic avenue, Bos- ton, where in a new modern building and with our quarters fitted with every modern convenience for the rapid and ac- curate handling of business, we have the »- largest space in New England devoted to the pigeon or poultry, or kindred trade. Our Manual, the National Standard Squab Book, is the best-selling work on breeding or farm-life ever published in any country, and has been carried in the mails to every part of the civilized world. We do not speak of these matters in a boastful spirit to magnify what we have done, but because they are an assurance to new customers that we are entitled to their confidence and patronage. We are most humbly grateful to the men and women who have favored us so boun- tifully with their trade and intend to merit further confidence. Our business is too much a matter of pride with us, too large, and too success- ful, to permit of a single patron being dissatisfied. We have spent over $100,000 to put our trade on a firm and successful footing and we cannot afford to run the risk of displeasing a customer. If re- sources, skill and experience count for anything, and we think they do, we intend to keep on furnishing the best Homer pigeons possible, and patrons can rest as- sured that they are getting for their money the greatest possible value. More- Over, we have one price to all; the cus- tomer in California can buy of us as cheaply as our next door neighbors. Our farm is always open to inspection and customers may make their own selection of breeding stock, if they desire. Our general advertising in the high- class magazines and other periodicals not only induces the breeding of squabs but also leads people to eat squabs. For everyone who sees our advertising and writes for particulars and starts breed- ing, there are a score of men and women 113 who enquire of their butchers or market- men for squabs in order to eat them. Squab dealers in every section of the United States and Canada are reporting an increased demand with which the sup- ply cannot begin to keep pace. We take some pride in the squab indus- try. We were the pioneers in it and we put it on a commercial basis. We have fostered it on correct lines and according to sound business principles, and the growth has not been a “‘boom,’’ as some other things in the past have been boomed, but has been steady and sure and successful. We paint no extravagant picture as to the profits of squab raising, and we show proofs every step of the way —stories of success of our customers wh) started green and are making money. That there are oceasional failures is to be expected. We give no recipe and sell no machinery for transforming an incom- petent person who fails at many tasks into a suceess. But the history of this in- dustry and of our business demonstrates with a power that cannot be denied that squab raising is RIGHT. No business climbs up the hill of profit steadily for any length of time unless it is absolutely fair, advertised by true state- ments, and giving a true money’s worth. When we began to tell the country about squabs, people would come to our Office and say, ‘‘Well, it reads pretty good, but is it true??? We did not have much evi- dence ready then, but we have now. Our answer is the present condition of the squab industry, forging ahead with giant strides to its place alongside of eggs and poultry, millions of dollars in value, and the unsolicited letters from our customers which we print, showing the most remark- able and convincing progres of this breeding. We have already printed a great many of these letters in years past, and we print more in this Supplement. We have room here to show only a small part of such testimony. For every letter printed here we have scores just as convincing. These communications have come to us unsolicited, day by day, as the business brought them, and more are coming every day, and they are our answer to doubters. They are the proof that what Wwe say about the business and what we teach in the Manual, is true, and is being worked out successfully. We do not print the names and addresses of the 114 writers of these letters because many of them are regular buyers of our birds, and moreover, we cannot advertise other breeders free of charge. These letters and the testimony they give are valueless if they are not genuine. Each and everyone is genuine, and moreover, we guarantee their genuineness, and will produce the originals at any time to satisfy anybody. In these days when many ‘‘testimonials’’ are unblushingly ‘“‘worked up’’ without a shadow of foundation, there are skeptics, and to such who cannot come to Boston and see us, we recommend that they send one of the commercial agency men to make the inquiry and handle the evidence. We have never yet had the genuineness of our letters from customers questioned, for they ‘‘ring true’’ and are in the simple language of facts which cannot be counter- feited, but we are ready at any time for any doubter. What others have done and are doing with our birds, you can do. KILLING MACHINE.—To kill squabs with extreme rapidity we have made a ma- chine with which the operator can worl with much ease and _ satisfaction. The method of tweaking the necks which we describe and illusirate in the Manual is slow when compared with the work of this machine, and is repugnant to many, es- pecially women. The illustration shows the construction clearly. The neck of the squab is placed between the movable arm (or lever) and the lower arm, and the lever is brought down upon the neck, breaking the bones, erushing the spinal cord and killing the squab instantly. The operation produces no blood, nor does it break the flesh. The two edges of the upper and lower arms, where they come together against the neck of the squab should not be sharp so as to cut the flesh, but should be round- ing, and slightly flat at the points of contact. The base-board is made of three-quar- ters, or one-inch lumber, twenty inches long and seven inches wide. The upper arm (or lever) is of half-inch stock, one and three-quarters inches wide and fif- teen inches long. The lower arm is of half-inch stock one and _ three-quarters inches wide and eight and one-half inches long. The two upright pieces in front, nearest the hand of the operator, are each of seven-eighths or inch stock, one and NAT ON AVES (VAN DATED SO (Urs. O Ons three-quarters inches wide and three and three-quarters inches high. The two up- right pieces in back, furthest from the hand of the operator, are each of seven- eighths or inch stock, two and one-half inches wide and three and three-quarters inches high. The pin at the back of the machine on which the lever turns is of one-quarter inch brass or iron rod two and one-quar- ter inches long. The upper arm (or lever) is beveled or cut off at an angle on lower corner (be- hind the uprights, and consequently in- visible in the picture) so that the lever can be raised to an angle of forty-five degrees, thus permitting the neck of the squab to be inserted between the arms at a point just back of the farther uprights. When the upper lever is at rest upon the lower arm, there should be no space between the two; they should butt flush together. The whole machine is built of wood with the exception of the metal pivot and the serews which hold the parts together. It is not necessary to mortise the uprights into the base-board. The screws which fasten the uprights are started underneath from the back side of the base-board and go through the base-board. Nails may be used instead of screws to hold the parts together, but the job will not be so strong. The base-board should be nailed or screwed to a bench or table so as to give firmness and solidity in operation. Carry the squabs in a basket to the machine and kill them there; do not take the machine into the pens and kill the squabs in sight of the other birds. We do not sell this squab killer. It should be built by you or your carpenter. Customers with large plants have told us that this tool is a handy article, and we have found it indispensable. The squahbs ean be killed as fast as you can work the lever. The pressure is considerable and the cords are crushed at once. The squab is not strangled but is paralyzed, and made lifeless at once. After killing in this manner, the squab may be bled, if desired, by inserting a long, sharp knife in throat and cutting it inside, out of sight. It is easier to do this after the- squab is dead than when it is alive. WEANING [THE YOUNG BIRDS.—If you are starting with a small flock with the expectation of raising your dwn breeders, do not take the young birds away from their parents out of the breeding pen until they are weaned. They are not thoroughly weaned until they are six to seven weeks old. It is true that many of them hop or fly or are pushed out of the nests when they are from four to five weeks old, but they continue to ery for food when they are hungry, and the old cock bird of the pair which hatched them will be seen feeding them on the floor. The young- sters at this time are feeding themselves, but to keep them strong and rugged they SIZ 72 ILIAD IN) IC need the crumbs of parental food which they get as described, and for which they ery, or squeak. These crumbs have been moistened by the parent bird and conse- quently digest quicker and better. When the youngsters are weaned, take them out of the breeding pen and put them in the rearing pen. You can tell by their looks when they are old enough to remove, even if you have not kept track of their age. The substance at the base of the bill of an old pigeon which is white will be a dark brown on a squab or young bird. A squab in the nest is so fat as often to be bigger than either of his parents, but after he has got. out of the nest and hustled around on the floor he trains off that fat and becomes thin and rangy and can generally be told from an old bird, if in no other way, because he is smaller. A poor beginner will sometimes be heard to say: “‘Many of my young birds are dying.’’ When he says that, you may be sure that the trouble, every time, is with him, and not with his birds, provided, of course, his parent stock is rugged and handsome. It may be deduced, without asking any further questions, that he is _taking his young birds away from. the breeding pen before they have the strength to support themselves. The precarious period of all animal life is the weaning age. Some beginners who have had no difficulty in raising squabs to market age have had losses because they supposed that a full-fledged youngster was able to take care of itself, but we never knew a case of this which we could not straighten out simply by recommending the breeder to keep his young birds longer in the breeding pen. NEED OF HEALTH GRIT.—It has been our experience in dealing not only with many thousands of beginners in the squab business, but also with a great many breeders of considerable experience, that comparatively few have a proper ap- preciation of the value of grit. Pigeons have no teeth and must have grit to take the place of teeth, otherwise they cannot prepare their food for their stomachs prop- erly, and will not do well. We have had customers take the most extraordinary care with regard to the grain, but supply absolutely no grit, and then they com- plained because their birds were not breeding properly, and that the squabs were not plump. Grit is not oyster shell, nor is oyster shell grit. You must have both. The grit is needed, as stated, to grind the grain, while the oyster shell is needed to supply the constituents out of which the female pigeon forms the egg. The yard of the flying pen must be gravelled, not grassed, and out of this gravel the birds get considerable grit. If you watch them, you will see them peck- ing at this gravel in the flying pen con- stantly. Beach sand, or sand of any kind, 115 may be used in the flying pen instead of gravel. The flying pen yard should be re- newed with fresh sand or gravel every six weeks, for although it may look the same to you, you must remember that it does not look the same to the birds, for they have been going over it constantly picking out the particles which they liked. In the winter time when the flying pen may be covered with snow, it is well to keep a protected box filled with gravel or sand in the squab-house. By a protected box, we mean a box which the birds cannot foul, but which allows the grit to fall down as fast as eaten. In a protected box in the squab-house there should also be fed the Health Grit which we sell. We have used all kinds of zrits, and the grit we are now using and selling to the exclusion of everything else, is the only grit which pigeons will eat greedily (thus showing that it is good for them). It contains salt, and no salt need be provided in lump fcrm if this grit is supplied. The grits commonly manufac- tured and sold for poultry, made out of granite, ete., are useless for pigeons, and it is a waste of money to buy them, for common gravel or sand would be fully as good, and cost nothing. A flock of pigeons under any conditions and in any part of the country will do better when our Health Grit is fed. The squabs will. be ready for market a few days earlier, they will be plumper, and both they and the old birds will be in rugged health, and will Keep so. We keep this grit before our own pigeons con- stantly, and consume and sell more tons of it every year than of any grit in the market. it is used by practically every large squab breeder of our acquaintance. We recommend it in the highest terms, knowing in our own experience that it pays for itself many times over. We charge two dollars per 100 pounds for this grit. We do not sell less than fifty pounds. Price of fifty pounds, one dollar. We ship it in bags and it goes at a low freight rate. A 100-lb. bag will last a small flock for months. It is as good for hens as for pigeons. This grit should be kept in and fed from a wood box. Do not put it in a tin or galvanized iron box. OYSTER SHELL.—A great deal of oyster shell on the market is unfit for pigeons, not being ground fine enough. It is quite difficult in some sections of the west and south to get oyster shell, which has to be transported from the seaboard. The oyster shell which we supply our trade is put up in one-hundred pound bags. Price 176 cents per 100 pounds. No order filled for less than fifty pounds; price of fifty pounds, forty cents. It is ground fine and is just right for pigeons. It should be fed to the birds from a protected box in the squab- house. INSECT SPRAYER.—Pigeons have a long feather louse which is not harmful. 116 The mite which causes the only trouble is small, about the size of a pin-head, called the red mite, because after it has sucked the blood of the pigeon it is colored red. We have gone a whole season without see- ing any of these mites in our breeding houses. If lice of this kind, or any kind, are discovered, the insect sprayer which we illustrate here will be found useful. The barrel is filled with kerosene (or water in which squab-fe-nol has been poured) and a fine spray driven against the nest-boxes and nest-bowls, or even against the birds. These insect sprayers are well made of heavy tin. We sell them for fifty cents each. They cennot be mailed, but should be sent by express, or with other goods by freight. Birds which are lousy may be dusted under the feathers, next the skin, with any good lice powder. The best time for such treatment is at night, when the birds may be readily caught and handled. It is also a good idea to throw a pinch of lice powder in the nest, on and around the squabs, about once a month during the summer. Lice are the terror of chicken raisers, but we never knew a squab raiser, if in- telligent, to be troubled very much or very long with lice. Once free of lice, the birds almost invariably keep them- selves clean. It is only the loft where cleaning is badly neglected which is troubled with lice. There is a _ light-colored grub which sometimes forms in the manure on the bottom of the nest-box, but no trouble comes from it and it does not get on the bird. RED AND WHITE WHBEAT.—It is im- possible for us to tell what is the differ- ence between red and white wheat. We do not know the chemical constituents which color one kernel red and another variety white. This question is asked us by in- quirers who have never heard of red wheat, yet it is a common and staple variety of wheat quoted daily in the Chicago and other grain markets. If you cannot get red wheat where you live, feed white wheat, which is fed regularly: by nine-tenths of our customers. As we say in the Manual, we feed red wheat instead of white wheat because it is not so much of a laxative. When we cannot get red wheat, which happens at some periods of some years, we feed white wheat. The effect of wheat is to keep the bow- els of the birds open and regular. There is not much fattening substance in wheat. NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK That function is performed by corn. Birds fed on wheat and nothing else get so weak that they do no breeding. We have found this out by the experience of customers. Now and then a customer buys birds without thinking that they must eat to live. After he has got them he sud- denly recalls that they must be fed and starts out to find something. We recall vividly one Kansas customer of this kind who was induced by some grain man to buy a lot of wheat and nothing else. After feeding his birds nothing but wheat for two weeks, he wrote us that they were dumpy and showing no inclination to build nests. ‘‘They are all the time on the floor,’’ he wrote, ‘‘and cannot fly.’’ He had got them so weak by feeding the wheat that they could not fly to their nest- boxes, to say nothing of building nests. USE OF LEG BAND OUTFIT.—The aluminum which we sell with our leg band outfit is seamless tubing and by the use of the outfit you produce a band which is seamless and which can be applied only to a squab, because, of course, the feet of an old pigeon are too large to be squeezed through the band as a squab’s can be squeezed. To make an open band (which can be applied to the leg of a full- grown pigeon) out of the closed band, you simply make a saw-cut lengthwise the band, then open the band with your fingers, put it around the leg of the pigeon, then close the band again. If anyone has old pigeons which he wishes to band, he will find this band outfit quite as serviceable as if used only for banding squabs. We have sold thousands of these band out- fits, and customers like them first rate. We can furnish open bands (to be ap- plied to the legs of full grown pigeons) made of aluminum, V-shaped joint, each band numbered, a first-class band in every way, for two cents each, or two dol- lars for one hundred, postage paid. MANAGEMENT OF BATH PANS.— The sixteen-inch bath pan which we rec- ommend and sell is better than a larger size, no matter what the capacity of your plant. It is easier emptied of water, there is less strain on the arms, and it is kept clean easier. There should be one bath pan for every twelve pairs of birds. If you have about 48 pairs of birds in each unit, you should have four bath pans in that unit, outside in the flying pen. You can get along very well with one drinking fountain to a unit with that number of birds, or a less num- ber of birds, but if you do not have bath pans enough the bathing water will get dirtier than it should and the birds should not be given an opportunity to drink this dirty water. In the winter, when the birds are shut up in the squab-house frequently for days at a time, it is not necessary to bathe them every day. Bathe them say once a week, taking the bath pans into the S OUP IP ILI IN IP squab-house and letting the pans stand be- fore them for about an hour. If you let the water stand in the bath pans in the squab-house in the winter time all day, they will splash too much out onto the floor, and the house will get damp. We fill and empty the bath pans three times a day in the summer time. If your plant is a small one, it is not necessary to do that. The best way for you to man- age is this: At evening (sunset, sometimes before) your birds will all leave the flying pen for their nests and perches inside. Then fill the bath pans with water. When the following day dawns, and before you are up, the pigeons will fly out and take a bath. When you get up, go to your pigeons and empty the bath pans, turning them bottomside up and leaving them that way all day. The price of these sixteen-inch bath pans is forty cents, crated ready for ship- ment. KILLING WITH A KNIFE.—Some deal- ers in squabs wish them to be killed with a knife as this gets out the blood and makes the flesh somewhat whiter. Find out whether or not the man to whom you _are going to sell the squabs wants them > bled. The way to kill them with a knife is to insert the knife inside the bill and eut, the jugular vein. Then hang up the squab bill downward and let the blood drain out. By using the knife on the in- side of the throat you do not make a wound which is visible to the eye of the consumer. Use a knife with a long, nar- row, sharp blade. CONCERNING NEST-BOXHES. — Many customers who do not use egg-crates or orange boxes, but build their nest-boxes of half-inch or five-eighths lumber, have written us that they have used the con- struction which we illustrate herewith, and which is good, because cleaning can be better done. The bottoms of the nest-boxes are re- movable and rest on cleats, as the pic- ture shows. The cleats are seven-eighths or one inch square and are nailed to the uprights. When this construction is employed, it is not necessary that you have a block or base screwed to our nappy or nest-bowl. The nappy or nest-bowl may be screwed directly onto this removable nest-box bottom. It is not necessary, and not advisable, to nail a strip of wood across the fronts of the nest-boxes, to prevent the squabs from falling out. The plain nest-box con- struction is better in every way. Begin- ners who tack strips of wood across the fronts or who make a closed, dark nest- box, invariably abandon such construction after a few months’ use of it. The squabs stay in the nest until they are ready to leave it, and it is very rare to find one on the floor. It will be noticed that in the cities, the street pigeons’ nests ay in many cases will be found on the open cornices of high buildings, and if squabs stay in such nests until they are able to fly, the beginner with squabs ought not to be worried about his birds’ nests which are only a few feet from the floor. SQUABS IN CHICAGO.—The following article is taken from the Chicago Ameri- can: SQUAB FARMING IS A NEW CHICAGO INDUSTRY. LITTLE CAPITAL IS REQUIRED AND PERSONS OF GOOD JUDGMENT AND CARE CAN REALIZE GOOD PROFITS FROM PIGEON CULTURE. If all the birds in all the pies were sud- denly to lift their voices in song like those in the nursery rhyme, the chorus would be loud and long, for raising cf squabs for food is a constantly growing and lucrative industry, and withal very fascinating. A number of farms each sheltering sev- eral hundred birds are being conducted within easy reach of the Chicago market. Such clubs as the Union League and Athletic are always ready buyers. Plump birds are readily sold for a dollar apiece for breeding purposes, and their squabs at $4 a dozen for food. As in any field of labor the best results come from studied and earefully planned _ effort. Utmost cleanliness in food and in the little com- partments to. which each bird comes with unerring instinet to nest enters largely in success. Eggs of clear black or white birds are difficult to hatch because the birds of those colors are very restless and nervous, not caring for their eggs; sometimes only one in a dozen being matured. In four weeks the young bird is ready for the market. Many of the squab farms are side issues of those employed at other vocations during the day, and bid fair to attract the attention of those seeking quick returns from a small outlay. Attention to recognized habits of the birds, sanitary conditions and good breeds 118 for parent birds are all that is necessary to success. ACTUAL TESTS CONVINCED THEM.— In Appendix A in our Manual, we tell of a sale of our Homers which we made in February, 1908, to a ship captain, who in- tended to sail from Boston around Cape Horn to the Pacific coast, with stops, the whole voyage to be made in about a year, the pigeons to furnish fresh squab meat for the long journey. The ship went to Florida, from Boston, thence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, safely, and sailed from there October 1, 1903. Under date of June 22, 1904, the Captain wrote us as follows from New York City: ‘‘The birds proved all you claim for them, and even more. I put them in -a small house I built, four by eight, and four by four flying pen on March 7, 1903. (This was on the deck of the ship.) They all hatched before April 6, and up to June 5, 1904, every bird had hatched twelve times, and one pair thir- teen times. I saved one pair of the first hatches, that was born about April 6, and in October they hatched their first pair, and up to June 5 had six hatchings, which I think was pretty good. I am satisfied that if the birds are taken care of there is big money in them, and just as soon as I can get a location in New Jersey near New York City, I will send to you for two or three hundred pairs. I have an option on a place now and will know tomorrow. I am pretty sure I shall get it and by next Monday I am in hopes to begin my houses. As soon as I get them ready, I will send you a draft for what birds I want. As my houses are built I will order and fill them and I hope you will try and give me a good lot of birds. I shall build for one thousand pairs this summer and increase next year if the birds are as good as those you gave me. In two weeks you may ex- pect to get an order for two hundred pairs, so you can begin to get them paired off. Any suggestion you can give me about the houses will be very acceptable, as I am going to begin to build at once.’’ Since the above was written, he has built his first house and we have shipped him the first large lot of birds. His experience is certainly convincing. Anyone who has doubts can start with a small purchase of birds and find out the facts for himself, just as this customer did. We are continually filling large orders for customers who started with a small purchase and did well. Why don’t you start with two dozen or so pairs and have the experience of this Michigan customer whose order we received this summer: ““A short time ago I received twenty-five pairs of your Homers. They are all doing finely, every bird being lively and full of vim. They are almost all at work now nest-building, and I am more than satis- fied with results thus far obtained. I am about to huild two houses. each house to accommodate two hundred and fitfy pairs, divided into five flocks of fifty pairs. INA IRI OUNAUL, SI ANID AURID S(O (WAUE) IBOWOUIE Enclosed find New York drafc to pay for four hundred and fifty pairs Extra Homers.’’ Under date of July 1, 1904, a customer writes us from an Ohio town: “The Homers I purchased of you two years ago this month have been doing very well, in short, their increase has been marvelous, averaging nine and one-half (9 1/2) pairs per year for the two years I have had them. I now have quite a flock, bred ex- clusively from the three pairs of mated birds purchased from you, but think it is about time to get some new blood in the flock, therefore will you kindly quote me your prices for birds from one to three or four months old, equal parts cocks and hens, so that I may turn them in with my young birds to prevent as much inbreed- ing as possible in that way. I want to say that I at first had some doubts as to the profits of the business, but must confess that they are even more than you have ever claimed.’’ Some of our most successful customers are women. One writes us this summer as follows: “Hinelosed find post-office money order for $7,08 payment for the fol- lowing order: three dozen wood nappies, three bath pans, four galvanized iron drinkers. Ship by freight or express as is cheaper. Something over a year ago I bought twelve pairs of pigeons of you. Imperative duties have prevented my giv- ing them as much attention as I would wish. but they have increased and pros- pered with but trifling loss. There are now more than forty pairs nesting, and altogether a flock of something over one hundred and fifty. I have sold none, not having had time even to sort them: out and send them to market. I hope soon to get into the lofts and put things in first-class shape and weed out all the culls. I am very weil satisfied with my experiment.’’ A customer in New York writes: ‘‘There have been two pigeon fanciers here this week who say they have no such fine stock as ours, nor have they seen anything like them.”’ BOSTON PRICES.—The squab market is improving every year, and breeders every- where are getting better prices, even right here in Boston, the centre of the section where our business is done, and where the interest in squabs is very great. The following quotations from the Boston Daily Globe cover a period of nearly four years, and, as will be seen, prices are firmly maintained. New York prices are better than these: Wighe, 23, WN Bowes occoss $4.00 and $5.00 a dozen INoey 7p, ANB SGccn sho00 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen IMiakyieo el 0 Smear 400 and 4.50 a dozen Ahh, PG Isa senna 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen A wihizeab ali eocsosoaucmoca coo 36 3.50 a dozen INR PRY GI ooo dona 3.00 and 4.00 a doze Sei, iG IRB oseoecoos 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Oyo, Ab IRB osacsocanes 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen INNS IE AMR ooaacandec 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen IDEe, Hy, WWE coopcccocos 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen S GIP IZILEIMIE IN JF UIs Os meL QOS eteyelolereretstels 5.00 and 6.00 a dozen FOO, Bi, Wc ccososcouccucacoccce 4.50 a dozev Mars) 12h 1904.) ).icisr< 131) 5.00 and 5.50 a dozen PASOT Ose LOO Sayer reyoperstavey= 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen May 28,°1904............ 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen Anema Ih De canonoane 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen djl 2a} aye scoaccco 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen NISL Seu O04 ereterstelsisi cists 6 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen PANTS 20 190422 yerties =i6 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Seow, I, aes seoosenos 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Oits G5 iksccososacona 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen INOW. 5 WOW Soocoos 3.00, 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Dee. 31, 1904........... 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen diam, 7 UWBscosassaacce 4.50 and 5.00 a.dozen iWilene, PE, WOasdesdoso60 4.50 and 5.00 a dozen Ajo; Al alNsacnocgseens 4.00 and 4.50 a dozen Mian? Pi; Wsossccoucce 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen AwME® B UWlssassosoocoo 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Tite Le ie sweapececces 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen L0G, P= IGE spasoneocasnb oD coDees 4.50 a dozen Serot, 78, W0Gncascocooa 3.00 and 3.50 a dozen Oot, Hil, MWHsccpodsaocce 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen Dee, NG, Wace codgeeads 3.00 and 4.00 a dozen Aja 71D at Oe ate a Geesaurooord 4.00 a dozen Wikye, Bil ABW ooqcopes 4.295 and 4.75 a dozen PAN Tylana 9 OOS reac yeversiarers 4.00 and 5.00 a dozen UEP Bins aI eSoeeeaasorcacrds aed 3.50 a dozen djuine WG, MOGs ocoscodaae 3.50 and 4.00 a dozen Jimlhie PE sc A ssneecaban Gobel aces 3.50 a dozen JNU O74, St) Sas caciaReeincrarioric 3.50 a dozen OC, Aik. Lanpgsoscan coSscuaee ran 3.50 a dozen dain, by 2b iecceguecdsueeconnoonoes 5.00 a dozen It will be noticed, in the above table of prices, that although the supply of squabs has greatly increased during the past five years, the demand for squabs created by our advertising has more than kept pace with it. Prices at this writing (Jan. 15, 1907) are as high or higher than we have ever known them. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.—Not a few breeders raise squabs by the hundred and are successful in every detail of the man- agement of their plant except selling the product. Some beginners seem to think they will be perfectly helpless without the co-operation of some dealer. It is a shame to raise fine squabs and then sell them to some commission man or other dealer who immediately ress=lls them, in most cases for double what he pay you for them. It is the steady practice of the dealers in Chicago, fer in- stance, to pay from $2 to $3 per dozen and resell them for $3 to $6 per dozen. If you don’t believe this is true, drop your role of a squab seller and go into these mar- kets to buy and you will see how much profit is being made off your goods. The squab dealers and commission men do not advertise for customers. The squabs are just as salable in your hands as in theirs. Many people would prefer to buy of the producer, being surer of a fresher and more satisfactory product. If you are producing squabs, by all means sell them to the consumer and get the price which the middleman is getting. It is essential, however, if you are going to do this, that you make it known in 119 some way that you have got squabs to sell. Think of the rich people, the well- to-do people, the good diners around you or nearest you, and figure out for yourself a way of getting to them the information that you are selling something which they want and will buy steadily. Perhaps a neatly printed circular sent by mai! will do it. Or an advertisement in the news- paper in your territory which will pro- duce results. Or you might pick out two or three likely families and make them a present of a squab or two to get them started. The products of the plants of hundreds of our small customers are spoken for ahead of capacity all the time by a neighborhood trade, and this is what you you should aim at. This is the way the finest butter and eggs and poultry are sold, and also squabs, and the plants of our customers who are selling squabs direct to the consumer are paying bet- ter than the plants of other customers whose product is marketed with poor judgment. Don’t be too fast to sell to a _ hotel. Some farmers and breeders get the idea that if only they can find a hotel to take all their goods, their fortune is made. In every city there are one or more first- class hotels which want the best of every- thing and pay accordingly. On the other hand, there are many hotels which do not care for the best. For example, few hotels care for the best ducks, because a single dinner order is half a duck, and half of the big first-class, expensive ducks is more than a diner wants, so the hotel keeper of course prevents waste by buying a small duck. Same with squabs. The hotel buyers are sharp bargainers, and if they think that their trade will be satis- fied with a seven or eight-pound squab, they will take such a bird rather than pay more for a ten or twelve-pound squab. The average squab breeder, like the average farmer and gardener, is content to sell to the middleman, and if you make the acquaintance of a good one, of course you avoid some bother, yet it has been our experience that it is just as easy to sell squabs to the consumer as to anybody else, in fact, after you have got started with him he will come after you and pay you a great deal more than anybody else, still he is paying just what he always has paid, and he is better satisfied. Squabs are phenomenal sellers and it is well to take advantage of this condition, which is not always true of poultry. MR. McGREW CALLS.—The following is from the pen of Mr. T. F. McGrew, associate editor of the Feather, poultry editor of the Country Gentleman, also a widely-quoted writer for the government’s bureau of animal industry, and a lecturer for the New York State Board of Agri- culture. He is one of the best known judges of poultry and pigeons in the United States. The visit to our our farm of 120 which he speaks was made in November, 1903; since then our stock of Homers has been increased. “It was our pleasure within the last two weeks to visit the home plant of the Plymouth Rock Squab Co., at Melrose Mass. We were beautifully entertained by Mr. Elmer C. Rice and his family. The buildings at the home plant are by far the best that we have ever seen for squab growing. Each building is con- structed for the best possible light, air, and sanitary conditions. Those who may be interested in squab growing will find it to their profit to communicate with Mr. Rice at Boston for the printed mat- ter which gives a full description of his plant and methods of doing business. “We saw at this plant 12,000 full-grown, well-matured Homing Pigeons ready for distribution for growing squabs. In all our experience we have never seen a bet- ter lot than these. They are large, vig- orous, full-breasted, broad-shouldered specimens such as one would select for producing squabs of the best character. There are Blues, Blue Checks, Silvers, Reds, and mixed colors such as would naturally be produced through the cross mating of any of these varieties. While we were there Mr. Rice shipped from the plant between five and six hundred birds, all of which are sent out in large roomy baskets, the baskets returnable at the shipper’s expense. So far as we can calculate, we are under the impression that Mr. Rice is doing a very large busi- ness. In addition to this we carefully perused a number of letters received by Mr. Rice from localities as far West as San Francisco, as far South as Florida, all of these communications speaking in the highest terms of the shipments made to them by Mr. Rice.’ RUNTS NOT DESIRABLE.—From the Farm Journal.—‘‘Our remarks in the Octo- ber issue respecting the relative merits of large and small birds were put in a way to be easily misunderstood. “By large birds we meant runts and that class, usually found only in the hands of fanciers and experts in pigeon breeding. They are not at all desirable for squab breeding. “Common pigeons are not hardy and prolific in proportion to their smallness. The largest of these should be selected for breeding always. “There is a great difference in the size and quality of what are called common birds. Where they are chosen as the basis of a squab breeder’s business a eareful selection should be made. “Of all the pure-bred types, we know of nothing superior or equal to the Hom- ers for breeding squabs. They are hardy and prolific and rear large, meaty squabs. There is also room for selection in Hom- ers, some being much larger than others. ‘When a breeder already has a flock of NATIONAL STANDARD SOWAB BOOK common pigeons he can greatly improve it by the infusion of Homer blood,’’ USEFUL MESSENGERS.—We have quite a call for our birds from physicians hay- ing a country practice. They leave two or three birds at a patient’s house to be let loose when the doctor’s services are needed. In cases of expected confinement at a distance of several miles from the doctor’s home, our birds are extremely useful. We earnestly advise country phy- sicians with a wide territory to cover to look into this matter and. communicate with us. It will be money in their pockets. DEMAND IN COLORADO.—We have had the same experience with the Western trade as the following writer in the Western Poultry World, of course excepting California, which is one of the best squab markets in the coun- try. What he says is conservative and sensible and bears out what we have al- ways maintained, that wherever there are men and women who are good eaters, there squabs will be eaten. If you live in a town where a squab never was seen, but where there are people who set a good table, to them you certainly can sell squabs: “Having been asked by your editor to write an article on pigeons or squab rais- ing, and also having said I would, I commence by stating a few facts which I have gained from both practical experi- ence and inquiries from Eastern breeders. In the first place, I want to say that lit- tle is known of this industry in the West, and in fact it has not been known in the East until about ten years ago, when they began to take it up about the same as the Western people are doing now. Many got discouraged at finding it was not a get-rich-quick scheme. “T am constantly having letters from different parts of the country asking me if squab raising pays, and saying that from inquiries they have made at meat markets and commission merchants, they are told that there is no demand ior them. Of course there is not at the presen: time, for if there was they could not get them. No man can sell what he has not got. I once went to a gentleman and told him my plan of starting a squab - farm, and he in turn went to his meat market and asked him what he thought of it, and he said I was either lazy or crazy. Now this man knew absolutely nothing of squabs, and never had any in his store, and, consequently, never had any calls for them. I dare say that if one were to go to every market in the city they would tell you the same thing, and nine out of every ten people would tell you they had never eaten a squab in their lives; still I have people—come Tight to my door—who come a good dis- tance out of their way and want to buy S (OF? 12 ILE NTE INS IC squabs of me. The reason hotels and restaurants do not continually have them on their bill of fare is because they cannot be supplied at all times. Today they can get perhaps a dozen, and tomorrow, if they wish any, they cannot get them, and even then they are obliged to take common squabs and not Homers. AS to the demand, I want to say right here, that I know one concern that will contract to take 400 dozen a week at good, _fair prices. Two parties that I know of right here in this city are con- stantly in receipt of letters from hotels and clubs in Denver wanting to buy squabs. In the East, where there are ten squab farms to one in the West, the prices are higher than here. It is because of the demand.’’ ELEGANT PROFIT,—The following is from Vick’s Magazine, an article on squab raising by a practical breeder: “Of recent years the demand for the toothsome squab has been so great that the supply does not come up to the de- mand. Where years ago they were used only for invalids, now they are on the bill of fare in almost all restaurants and hotels. They command good prices at _all seasons and an elegant profit is de- rived from them by the raisers. It used to be that pigeons could not thrive when housed up, but now the former obstacles have been overcome and better success is made where they are confined than wnere they have their freedom. “The squab business if conducted prop- erly will bring in a large percentage of profit considering the first capital in- vested. Only a few hundred dollars are required to start where such a sum would be nothing to commence in such a busi- ness as stock keeping, etc., and yet with a few hundred pairs of pigeons anyone with a little judgment can make a living for himself and family. Many farmers’ sons could make nice yearly incomes by stocking a part of their barn (not used for anything else) with pigeons. The risks are not so great as with chickens, but the birds must be atended to and not neglected. “With chickens one must not only feed the old, but must also give the little ones their meals, but not so with pigeon breed- ing. You feed the old birds, and they feed their young. One person can feed a thousand pairs of birds in about a quarter hour, the rest is left for the old ones to do. The little birds are fed from pre-digested food from the crops of their parents, who by a sort of pumping force the food into the squabs’ mouths. It takes no longer time for a person to feed a lot of birds with young than it does without young. “After the squabs are four to five weeks old they are ready for market. It costs but one and one-half cents per pair for feeding birds a week and their young also, so with thé prices received for the 121 squabs, which is forty cents per pair in summer to eighty cents per pair in the winter, one can imagine the percentage of profit. “Squabs of the largest size demand the highest market prices, so it pays to com- mence right by buying only good large stock. The amount of labor required is almost nothing, in fact unless very large numbers are kept, one will have only a few hours’ work daily. The writer has nearly 2,000, and it takes only fifteen min- utes to feed and half an hour to give fresh water. Of course it takes a day or two a week for killing young ones, and a day or two each month for clean- ing buildings, then the work is dabout done. One person can attend 1,000 pairs nicely and have ample time to do other work around a place. The writer finds it a snap to other ocupations and one is his own boss and can go or come when he pleases. It is the business for a young man; he can advance as he saves money. There are some who commenced on a few dollars and by careful saving now operate plants of thousands of pairs of birds. “The larger the pigeon, the larger the squab, the higher the price. The breed- ing houses need not be heated artificially in winter as the birds can withstand any temperature and in cold weather sit upon their young until they are feathered suf- ficiently to stand the cold.’’ ENLARGED HIS PLANT WITH PROFITS.—Experience of a Breeder Who Made it Pay From the Beginnitng.— In Country Life, a monthly magazine, one of the handsomest and highest-toned publications, the experience of a gentle- man in squab raising gives the following facts: ‘‘Six years ago I did not have a bird, but I invested fifty dollars in pur- chasing twenty-five pairs of extra-choice Homer pigeons, remodelling a _ poultry house for their accommodation. I had Kept pigeons for pleasure for five years, previously, and felt that I knew a little about them. In these six years I have not invested another dollar excepting the doliars the birds have earned, and my present establishment of five houses and fifteen hundred pigeons, which has cost me two thousand dollars, is all paid for. In addition, for the laf’ three years, I have paid out from five j;to seven dol- lars each week for the wages of a helper, to dress the squabs and clean the houses, for my regular business would not permit me to attend to these duties myself. “The coneensus of opinion of all ex- perienced squab breeders stamps’ the Homer as the best pigeon for this pur- pose. This variety is strong and vigor- ous; a hearty feeder and good worker; bright-eyed, alert and active; stocky, sym- metrical and full-breasted, which counts so much in squabs. They are also pro- lific, and their squabs are full-feathered and fit for market in four weeks. “T was very fortunate in getting my 122 INCA LORIN AUG. SIA INUD AIKIDO) SQ) WAS) JE (OOQUE first twenty-five pairs of birds. These were Homers, full-blooded, and had es- tablished records for flying, having taken first honors in several contests. “They not only averaged me seven and one-half pairs of squabs a year, but stamped their vitality on the birds I have selected from their young. “As my profits accrued I purchased straight Homer stock, picking from the best near-by breeders, as well as those of established reputation at a distance. “T always put a lot of new birds in a clean coop by themselves, give generous supply of feed and water, and have plenty of nesting materials in the coop, and if they have come from a distance put a good poultry powder in their feed for the first meal, and let them alone for a few days. If they are strong, healthy birds they ought soon to begin to carry materials and _ build nests. When nest building is fully under way I transfer each mated pair to permanent breeding quarters. When I find a pair of birds mated, I call my assistant and tell him which bird to keep his eyes on, and not to lose sight of it a single im- stant. At the same time I note the other bird and catch it. I pass the caught bird to the assistant. He points out the other bird and it is soon caught. I band all purchases as well! as those I raise. “My weekly expense for feeding my flock of fifteen hundred pigeons during the month of December, 1908, was eigh- teen dollars and thirty cents for the fol- lowing: Three hundred pounds of cracked corn, three bushels each of wheat, peas and kaffir corn, one and one-half bushels of millet, one bushel of hemp and half a bushel of cracked rice. The rice I do not feed regularly, but give when the birds’ bowels are loose, for which condition it is an excellent corrective. Feed is now much higher than last year. “Pigeon-keeping for squabs may fitly be termed a twentieth-century industry, for only during the last five years has it by its rapid development attained to the dignity of a special business. The busi- ness will surely still more increase dur- ing the first decade of this century. The price of squabs has been strongly main- tained during the five years just passed, notwithstandwhge the marvelous increase in the businesse The business furnishes a way by which either men or women (for many of the latter have successfuliy taken up squab raising) can embark in an enterprise which does not call for se- vere bodily exertion and which if intelli- gently managed will yield good dividends.”' SQUAB-RAISING ON THE FARM.— Pigeons Kept in the Upper Part of Duck and Poultry Houses.—The following is from an article in the Country Gentleman, en- titled ‘‘A Combination Plant, Fruit, Bees, Fowls and Squabs’’: “Hor growing squabs some have sepa- rate houses, some use the lofts of old barns, and many are so _ constructing © their poultry buildings as to have quar- ters for growing squabs in the second story of the poultry houses. This is gained by laying a flat roof on top of the pouitry house, on top of this a double . thickness of tar paper well coated with hot tar, with a board floor laid over it. This provides the floor for the pigeon house, the roof for the poultry house, and makes it absolutely vermin proof both ways. I have about 200 pairs. THIS LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO HIS FRIEND IN A NEIGHBORING TOWN. I am pleased to know that you are getting along so nicely with your squab house. Wish you could see the last consignment of birds I received from the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. of Boston. They are beauties, and they commenced building their nests the second day after they arrived. I have no idea where you are going to purchase your birds but I certainly think you will make no mistake if you get them from Mr. Rice, for the ones he sent me are the finest I ever saw. Jam confident if you buy your birds of Mr. Rice he will use you right for he has done the tight thing by me.—F. B., New York. WANTS 500 PAIRS IN THE SPRING. My pigeons are doing very well but they are shedding a great many feathers. I want to make arrangements early in the spring for 500 pairs of your best stock, but before build- ing my houses I want to take a trip to Melrose and look your plant over, in order to get all the ideas about construction, maintenance, etc. I enclose separate slip with a few questions that I would like to have you answer if it is not too much trouble—J. W., North Carolina. LOST ONLY ONE BIRD, AND THAT BY ACCIDENT. I recently bought a few pairs of birds that you sold to a gentleman in this city about March Ist. He was moving to St. Louis and had to dispose of the birds. With what I got from you and the seven pairs I bought from him I now have 65 birds. Have never lost but one bird and that was my own fault for I was experimenting on it and accident- ally killed it. Ihave a market in St. Louis for all I can ship at $4.00 per dozen. If not ask- ing too much would you kindly give me the address of a couple of Chicago and New York commission men that handle squabs.—W. E. T., Missouri. STARTED WELL. I write you in regard to the pigeons you will remember we bought of you (24 pairs) about two years ago this month. Our Homers have done very nicely. We sold 40 pairs last year. We have quite a nice little plant started.—A. C., Wisconsin. DOING WELL, GOING TO BUILD. Please send me a plan for your multiple unit house. My pigeons are doing fine.—D. B., Illinois. STARTED IN TO MAKE REFORMS. Please find enclosed check for nine dollars Somebody handling the small, stunted Homers may tell you that eight pounds to the dozen is good weight for squabs and that squabs are not bred to weigh more from Homers. That is true, from his Homers. Plymouth Rock Homer squabs. In these pages you will find that eight pounds is low for 178 1906 . STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. tor which kindly send us one dozen drinking fountains. We would like you to get these off as soon as possible. I was very much pleased with my visit to your plant at Melrose which I made yesterday, especially with your facilities for mating birds up. Got some new ideas along with a lot of good advice from your superintendent, and to-day have started in to make a few new reforms here-——T. H. D., Connecticut. KNOWS PLYMOUTH ROCKS BY EX- PERIENCE. I saw your advertisement of Homer Pigeons in a magazine. I would like very much for your company to send me one of your catalogues, and how much you charge for Homers a pair. I know from experience that a Plymouth Rock Homer is a good breeder. A friend of mine got some from your people a short time ago, but I did not inquire as to the price of them. In answer to letter from you, I will send for some, and if they are satisfactory, I will be glad to get more, as I am a great pigeon fancier.—W. A., Illinois. ONE YEAR’S SATISFACTION. Send one bushel of Kaffir corn and one bushel of Canada peastome. It may interest you to know that the birds I bought from you a year ago are in every way satisfactory. I have doubled the number of workers in that time and have had all I wanted for my own table, and sold quite a number.—J. B. H., Massachusetts. SOME WEIGH 14 OUNCES WHEN 15 DAYS OLD. I received your pigeons in May when I was in Longueuil. They have done well, as I have had some which weigh 14 ounces at 15 days old. What do you think of a mirror in my squab house? I will be very pleased to receive all your advertising booklets.—G. C., Canada. SUNFLOWER SEEDS ARE GOOD. Your book doesn’t say anything about feeding pigeons sunflower seeds. Will they eat them or isn’t it good for them to havethem? Please let me know. The pigeons I got from you are doing pretty well, 1 think. I may get more next year.—B. J., Vermont. Answer. Sunflower seeds are a good pigeon food and are used by many of our customers. They are rich and oily and should not be fed in excess, but as a dainty. A good way to feed them is to throw the whole head in front of the birds and let them pick out the seeds themselves with their bills. BREED WELL IN CALIFORNIA. En- closed find money order for 40 cents for which kindly send me two feet of your aluminum tubing for bands. Also send one of your price lists, as mine has been mislaid. Twenty-four pairs of Homers purchased of you one year ago are doing fine. Flock now numbers 150.—W. J. M., California. CONTINUOUS SATISFACTION. Enclosed find check which is to cover enclosed order. All the birds which you have sent me so far are very satisfactory.—G. S., New York. FINEST BIRDS AROUND. Your birds I bought of you a year ago are going fine—the finest birds around, so my friends say.—Mrs. J. J. M., Massachusetts. HOTEL KEEPER RAISING HIS TABLE SQUABS. Am very glad to know that you were pleased with our menus and will con- tinue mailing them to you from time to time if you do not object. I hope that the temp- tation will be strong enough to cause you to come to our city and look over our squab farm. I have been quite successful and have a fine lot of birds. .It is more than likely, however, that I shall want some additional birds in the very near future. I would like a few show Homers, Dragoons and Runts’ For squab raising purposes, I could not ask anything better than I now have. Will mail you an order for supplies in a few days.—W. S., Georgia. BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY BIRDS. Will you please quote me the price of your wicker shipping baskets, size for 12 pairs, or kindly forward me the address of the manufacturers of same. Also state in your letter if the drop- pings must be entirely free from straw and feathers, or reasonably so, to satisfy the pur- chasers at the tanneries. The six pairs I pur- chased of you two years ago have increased to 150 or 170, besides what I have killed, and the stock has proven entirely satisfactory in every - way. I have taken pains to follow your instructions to the letter so now I have the above number of beautiful, healthy birds.— W.H. Y., New York. Answer. It is impossible to get all straw and feathers entirely out of the manure. Sweep out what you can with a broom before cleaning the squab-house. The leather peo- ple donot care if some straw and feathers get in but they do not want gravel and tobacco stems. The latter discolor and stain when wet. BIRDS THAT FLY AWAY. On about April 20, 1905, we bought of you six Plymouth Rock Homer pigeons. Since then they have For six years we have had a complete monopoly of the fine trade of the United States. We sell more Homers every year than all other firms and breeders combined. is that our birds demonstrate their value and make friends wherever they go. 179 we intend to maintain. The reason for this This supremacy 1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. done exceedingly well, and we have got a pretty good start in pigeons now, but what I write you to-day for is this. This morning at 9 o'clock one of the birds we got of you got out of the flying pen. She flew into the air and started for Boston. This was a brown bird, and we thought she might arrive at her destination, so I wish you to keep a lookout for her and see if you can tell if she gets there. If she does arrive, would you mind letting me know? I am anxious to know if she gets there. This was a female bird and she left a young bird about a week old in the nest.— R. H., Iowa. Answer. No Homer would fly that dis- tance. We receive many letters like the above. Customers should watch the doors of squab-house and pens and not let their birds get away. LARGE, HEAVY AND FULL-BREASTED. Enclosed find money order for one more dozen pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I did not rush a letter down to you the same afternoon I received the other birds for the reason that I wanted to try them out first. The dozen pair of Plymouth Rocks, on their arrival weighed exactly 22 pounds, while a few days later I received another dozen pair from another company and they weighed only 17 pounds. They were not full-breasted like your birds. I received first shipment on the 2nd of March. They are now working like good fellows. Have three nests with eggs in. You will hear from me occasionally with further orders.—A. P. S., Michigan. WANTS TO BUY SOME GOOD ONES. Kindly send your catalogue and any other printed matter you have about pigeons. An acquaintance wants to buy some gocd birds and he is going to look at my lot that I received last Thursday. I feel sure I can land him as a customer for you.—H. D. C., Pennsylvania. GOING SLOWLY. Please send free book, “How to Make Money with Squabs.” The birds bought of you are doing well now and some of their young are hatching. Have enough now to ship a dozen a month now.— W. M., Maryland. JUST THE BIRDS. I thought I would let you know how my birds are getting along. They arrived on Tuesday, May ist, as I wrote you. Thursday of the same week one pair had commenced to build. At this writing four pairs have eggs. The others are build- ing. That is what I call going right to work. I am very much pleased with them. There was a party here this morning looking at them. He talks of putting in one hundred pair, and says they are just the birds that he wants. He is coming up to see your plant. Of course I showed him my birds and told him just what they were doing and where they carne from so I think he will be a cus- tomerfor you. Ishall advertise the Plymouth Rock birds wherever I havea chance. Thank you for your kindness.—J. C., New Jersey. SQUABS WEIGHING ONE POUND APIECE WHEN ONE MONTH OLD. I received my pigeons from you April 20, 1905. I have one pair that has hatched eleven (11) times up to the 22nd day of April, 1906, so you can see that they have had fairly good care. I now have 110 birds and am getting them fast now and will commence shipping when I get 70 or 80 pairs. I have weighed a number of birds four weeks old that weighed 16 ounces and I think that is very good.—L. F., Iowa. QUICKLY AT WORK. Please pardon my delay in acknowledging the receipt (right side up) of the pigeons you shipped to me at Harpers Ferry, W. Va., which place I left before the shipment arrived. My wife | informed me that they were all in good shape and the finest specimens she ever saw. Also thought they had returned the baskets to you. As soon as I go home, which will be in a few days, will send you another order. My wife’s third letter tells me that 16 pairs out cf the 18 have gone to setting. Don’t think you can beat that at home. We have everything good to feed them, peas, kaffir corn, wheat and millet. and we intend to make a success of the business.—W. S., Virginia. SQUABS HAVE AVERAGED ONE POUND APIECE. Enclosed please find certified check for $173.98 for which kindly send me birds and supplies as enclosed. Kindly send the shipment of birds as soon as possible as I would like to receive them before Tuesday. All my birds are doing nicely. My squabs, under your system of feeding, have averaged a pound apiece and I expect from the present outlook of things to make them average a good deal more.—E. H. M., Pennsylvania. THIS WOMAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA KNOWS WHAT A FINE HOMER IS. A week ago I wrote you complaining of non- acknowledgment of my remittance sent in with my order. As I was beginning to wonder if it had miscarried, I am pleased to be able to inform you that I received the best possible answer to my letter in arrival of the birds I ordered from you. They arrived The equipment at our farm for mating birds cost.$2000 and no expense was spared to make it perfect. A thousand mating coops are in constant use. The principal mating house is heated by hot water so as to get the best and quickest results in the cold months. 180 1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. ne eh A about the same time as your letter (May Ist). All of them are in first-class condition and I am very pleased with them, as I consider that they are a fine lot of birds, and I think I know what a fine Homer is when I see it, as my father and brothers have bred and sold trained flying Homers for years in Lancashire, England, some of them worth twenty-five dollars a pair. Although I never heard of squab raising before I came to Canada three years ago, when I first saw your book adver- tised in Munsey’s I thought it was some kind of game bird reared in captivity. and sent for your book more out_of curiosity than any- thing else. I think I shall like the business very much and shall probably be sending another order in a month or two when I see how I go on with the birds I have got. Thank you very much for the two pairs extra you sent, also nest bowls. They were a very agreeable surprise to me as I did not expect anything like that on such a small order. The express charges were six dollars, and 25 cents duty on nest bowls. If you would write me from time to time giving me your ‘prices I shall be much obliged—Mrs A. R., Canada. SQUABS WEIGHING FROM 13 TO 16 OUNCES. Please send me at your earliest convenience the names of reliable merchants to whom I can ship squabs, in New York. The 80 pairs I bought of you last fall are doing well. I sold squabs that weighed from 13 ounces to almost one pound apiece. I have over 1C0 pairs of young ones that I am sav- ing for stock —H. J., Ohio. WORTH THEIR PRICE. Sorne time age I sent you an order for three pairs No. 1 and three pairs Extra Homers, stating that I wished to compare with Homers a friend of mine was ordering at a very much lower figure. In a word, after due comparison, I order six more pairs Extras. Please send me fine birds.—C. J., Illinois. SQUABS WEIGHING 16 TO 17 OUNCES EACH. Please find enclosed remittance for which send me 12 pairs and supplies noted. The dozen pairs you sent me started in to do business last month, having been moulting up to that time. The first two pairs squabs hatched, at one month old, weighed one pound each, with one that was 17 ounces. That is very good, is it not? Iam well pleased with them. Make this dozen as good and I shall be more pleased.—C. B. G., Connecticut. HIS FOURTH ORDER. Enclosed you will please find money order for which you will please send me as soon as possible one dozen Our whole time and energies are given to squabs. c handled—promptly, courteously and thoroughly, with every detail attended to. It is a business with us, pushed steadily every day in the year except Sun- answered at once. pairs Extra bred Homers (fourth order.)—L C., Louisiana. SUPERIOR IN LOOKS AND WORKS. The birds (60 pairs) arrived on the late train from St. Paul on Sunday night last, and remained in the depot here until early on the following morning when we took them home. Outside of the injured ones mentioned, I will say that the birds arrived in perfect condition and are fully up to what we expected them to be. They are now “at home” and present a beautiful appearance. The birds which you sent me last November (nine months ago) are entirely satisfactory. and “‘ out-class*” any I received from the or these which my friend here received from the same people. Mine are plump, his are “ cranish,’’ long-legged and long-necked. i would not keep that kind of birds. My triend has not accommodations for pigeons, and wanted to sell out. A doctor who for several years rented offices in my law office building here, looked them over with the view of purchasing the outfit, and I advised him to do so, to get a start in the business. He visited my lofts, and saw my birds, wanted to buy some from me, and after he saw mine, he would not buy of my friend. I gave him your address, but have not seen him: since, and do not know whether he has made a pur- chase or not. Ihave none to sell at this time as we are trying to increase the flock to at least 1200, for which we have ample accommo- dations, then we will begin to sell. There is no mistake in saying that the birds which I received from you, out-class those which the have sent here. If your Mr. Rice should ever come to this country I would be pleased to have him stay with me and look over the “ greatest ’’ farming coun- try on earth. My elder boy (17 years of age) visited the great Minnesota State Fair. Saw Dan Patch break his record, reducing it to 1.55 flat. He looked the pigeons over as a matter of course, and he tells me that he could find no Homers there which compared with ours. He intends to exhibit some at the fair next fall—H. M., Minnesota. MADE A SUCCESS AND GOING AHEAD ON A BIG PLANT. I havea party that wants to go into the squab business with me, and it is possible that I will call on you during Nov- ember for 2000 breeders. I have done very well with the 800 I have, encouraging enough to put in quite an extensive plant. I would like to have your personal opinion as to whether 2000 birds will do as well in 20 units of 100 birds each with one fly 12x48x200 as they would in 20 units with 20 flies 10x12x48. On We handle trade as it ought to be Letters are days and holidays, and not a side issue or an amusement. 181 1906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. account of labor I would prefer the one large fly, but I want no experiments and leave the matter with you. I can get $4.00 per dozen for a large portion of my squabs, and would like to have an opinion as to what 5000 of your breeders would net us yearly when we taise our own feed on the farm. WE SUPPLY HENS TO THOSE WHO NEED THEM. After recommending your firm to A. F. Kennelley of this city and he being a purchaser from you recently, I find that he is well pleased with treatment accord- ed him. Enclosed please find $5.00 for five female birds to be used as breeders. I bought some birds from a friend of mine and he had five odd cocks which I want to mate up. You will forward these by first express to my address.—H. E. W., Ohio.. BEST BIRDS HE EVER SAW. The Homers ordered from you reached me in due time and in excellent condition. They certainly are the finest birds I ever saw. I teally believe they are a finer lot than the first consignment, if that be possible. The second day after their arrival they commenced building their nests, which I imagine is a pretty good record. Some of my friends have secured birds from other parties and although I have not seen their birds, I am confident they can’t tell me that they have a finer lot than mine. If I have an opportunity of securing you any customers I shall be only too glad to do so.—B. Y., New York. BEST HOMERS IN CALIFORNIA. Birds received in Al condition. Your birds have stirred up quite some interest here and what I hear from people who know is that your birds are the best in the colony. As it is I am well pleased with the bunch. I have a house 12x32 feet divided into four pens 8x9 feet with a three-foot passage running the length and everything up to date. That also has opened their eyes in the building and arrange- ments in an up-to-date squab house. I have had the birds less than a week and am pretty well advertised already. The market here is strong at $3.00 to $3.50 and the demand far exceeds the supply.—C. H., California. SOLD YOUNGSTERS FOR $2 A PAIR IN KANSAS. Enclosed find remittance for one leg band outfit. My pigeons have been doing fine, and are keeping busy all the time. Have sold off the young pigeons at eight weeks old for $2.00 per pair. What is the difference in Canada peas and the peas we raise here? Will the common peas do to feed to the pigeons?'—G. W. S., Kansas. LATEST NEWS FROM THE NEW YORK MARKET; HIGH PRICES WHICH ARE GOING HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE NEW LAW FORBIDDING ENTIRELY THE SALE OF QUAIL EXCEPT IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER. I take the liberty of asking you for a little more advice for the birds I bought from you last November. Of sick- ness I have not seen any sign of it. I lost only two of them, one of apoplexy I think, because it fell like shot dead, the other one died of diarrhoea. Of the young squabs, the cas- ualties have been a little higher, but out of 50 I did not lose more than six, or 12 per 100. Now I wish you would give me your opinion how I have progressed, if I am on the regular average or if I am under it. The prices for squabs on the New York market have been very high all winter—have reached as high as $6.50 a dozen for squabs of over 10 pound a dozen, and $4.50 for birds of near eight pound or so. Of course private trade is better and I have been able to sell squabs for 50 cents apiece easily. have a set of birds that give me three eggs and have hatched them successfully with three days late for the extra one. Does that happen often?—H. G., New York. WILL NOT BUY ANY HOMERS BUT PLYMOUTH ROCKS. Last May I ordered from you twelve Plymouth Rock Homers. They arrived on the eighth of May and on the twelfth of the same month the first egg was laid. Five pairs of them went to work almost immediately and have been at work ever since. I raised the squabs during the summer. Ihave now 13 pairs of mature pigeons. Twelve pairs work constantly and I am very much pleased with them and want to thank you for them and as you are so kind as to offer to answer questions and to help we people who do not know all about raising squabs I shall be so much obliged if you will give me a little help. My present ambition is to increase my plant. I want to buy some Extras from you as soon as I can raise the capital. I can buy Homers nearer home but yours have done so well for me that whatever new stock I get I would like to get from you. You say in your book that you will give your patrons the address of a good New York buyer. Will you please send me the address?—C. O., New Jersey. BRANCHING OUT. Please quote me your best figures on the following: Homer pigeons in pairs ready to go to work in lots of 20, 50 and 100 pair lots. Hempseed in bushel lots. Health grit in 100 pound lots. I have your prices of last year but presume there are some changes. I purchased 12 pairs of Homers from you last spring and they raised me about These are strong letters. Read them over. You want some assurance, when you buy Pigeons, that you will be treated right, as these customers were. 182 3906 LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. THEY WERE RECEIVED BY. THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. 60 young ones by the first of November.— R. W. H., Iowa. BLOOD AND HIGH BREEDING COUNT. Enclosed find draft for which you will send by Pacific express, Extra Homers, as per memorandum. Several weeks ago I ordered 15 pairs of . When the birds came I did not think they were much more than common birds. A friend in our town wanted some breeders and I got him to try your birds. They came last night. There is a big differ- ence between the birds. My first birds do not show any white on bill to amount to any- thing and they are most all white or very light color. Yours show their high breeding. Blood tells, when you put them together. I sold mine at half price to-day to get shut of them. What I want is blooded stock or nothing. Please send me a good collection of assorted colors, blues, reds and checkers. I ordered one of your squab books some time ago and I think it the best I ever read on pigeons.—J. A., Missouri. - TRIFLING DEATH LOSSES. In January of this year I purchased 12 pairs of your Extras. They are now (April) in fine condi- tion and have hatched out 24 young ones, 22 of which are living and doing fine-—W. J., Massachusetts. SEVEN PAIRS WORTH $25, THIS ARKANSAS CUSTOMER THINKS. Writing you a few lines to let you know that I got the pigeons all O.K. They were all well. I got them two weeks to-day and out of the seven pairs, four pairs of them have built and are setting on eggs already. I would have written you sooner but wanted to see what they were going to do. I would not take $25 for the seven pairs. Sending the basket back this evening with the letter. You can put this letter on your list. I think it is the only one from Arkansas.—C. W., Arkansas. GOOD SHOWING AFTER THEIR 3000- MILE JOURNEY. Enclosed please find Wells Fargo Express money order for $1.70 for which please send me by mail post paid, one leg band outfit at your very earliest convenience. My birds received from you March 17 are doing fine. They got right to work and one month from the day I received them I had three pairs of squabs hatch. Since then one more pair has hatched and two more pairs are setting and two pairs building. I think that is a pretty good showing in six weeks for 10 pairs after travelling 3000 miles. I lost one hen. She got sick and I could not find what was the trouble. She did not have diarrhea, but just seemed to droop and die. The remainder of them are as fine as could be. Will you please quote me prices on nine pair Extra Homers to be delivered in June or July. Caunot tell yet just when I will be ready for them, but either June or July sure. Best wishes for your continued success.—E. M., California. ARKANSAS CUSTOMER IS PLEASED WITH SQUARENESS. I received your Man- ual a day after I wrote that letter, and I received another one. I have sold both cf ~ them, and find enclosed $1.00 to pay for your extra one and another one for myself. You people treated me so well I won’t buy any Homers from anybody else. I was surprised at your squareness and have told every one about it and got them all a-going in the right direction. I was very, very much pleased with your Manual.—G. R., Arkansas. HIS MONEY TALKS FOR HIM. Last August l purchased 124 pairs of your Extras and am now in the market for about 375 pairs more. Iam also in need of some extra hens of the same quality. Can you supply same? Also let me know if you can furnish these birds in pairs in the following colors: blues, blue checkers and red checkers in any number I may desire. Please state your very lowest price on above number of pairs. Let me hear from you by return mail, as I am in a great rush for the birds.—S. T., Indiana. CANNOT SAY TOO MUCH IN PRAISE OF OUR HEALTH GRIT. Enclosed find $2.00 for 100 pounds of health grit. I find this grit the best on the market for pigeons. I cannot say too much for it as it keeps the pigeons in fine health. Although the price is high I would never be without it. I have quite a few people that want to get this grit from me. Can you let me have it cheaper, so that I can make something out of it? Answer and let me know.—R. O., New Jersey. BIG SQUAB FARM WHOSE OWNER BOUGHT HIS BREEDERS OF US. I visited a squab farm last Sunday and before I left found that the owner bought his breeders of your company, five hundred pairs. He has 1100 pairs at present and is making a fortune. After seeing this farm I was more than con- vinced that the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. is O. K. If I get as good a lot of birds as he has I certainly will be pleased. Iam sorry that I did not figure on handling more birds than I did. Have built house to accommodate 100 birds. Enciosed find stamps for which please send plans and specifications for squab houses. No doubt you will receive a larger order from me in a short time. Will notify you in a few days when to ship birds. 4 Beware of anybody who tries to make a sale to you by running down the Plymouth Rock Squab. Co. Insist that he show you letters like these in proof of his claims. 185 1906 STORIES OF SUCCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NEW. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS 1906 THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY OF BOSTON IN NINE MONTHS OF 1906. I want to have everything complete before I have them shipped.—I. S., New York. HAS TRIED THEM AND KNOWS. I am at present debating with myself and with some of my relations in regard to starting in the pigeon business. My folks are trying to persuade me that it is going to cost too much to start, and that I will not realize any great profits very soon. As I see, and at the best I can figure it out, it will take about $100 to * start in with fifty pairs of breeders and build a home to accommodate them, getting the price of building down as low as possible with lum- ber at its present price. What I want to know is, do you think it would pay me to start and about how long do you think it would take to get back the amount paid out if I relied entirely on the birds? I think I could get it back in four months at the most, because I have three pairs I pur- chased of you in January, besides the young onesI have raised. I have watched and studied their ways and know something about them. I know how fast they breed, etc. Now am I right in my estimation as to the time it would take.to regain my money and would you advise me to start if possible? My birds I have now are doing fine.—S. A., Massachusetts. MANURE FOR SALE. Will you please give me the address of some firm to which I can sell my pigeon manure? My pigeons are doing well this spring.—T. O., New York. RHODE ISLAND SUCCESS. I am enclos- ing money order for which kindly send me enclosed supplies. If this money order does not cover cost do not delay the grain but send me bill for extra. My birds are all doing finely. —B. O., Rhode Island. THIS IS THE KIND OF PLAIN TALK ONE LIKES TO HEAR. I am finding out for my- self if there was money in squabs and I have found it to be true by other squab breeders. I was to a man’s place this afternoon and he said he had no trouble in selling his squabs for a good price. I guess the only trouble is people are sleeping half the time. That’s why they don’t know much about squab breeding. If a fellow doesn’t believe in squab breeding, all he has to do is to open his eyes and look around. I’ve been to a couple of bird shows and have seen nothing to go ahead of your birds yet. My friend was saying what nice birds they had at the show, and I thought T would go down with him. We had to pay 25 cents to get in. After we looked at the birds, he said that mine would get the first prize if I would take them down. Then I found out that I have some of the biggest birds Is there anybody in your town who has failed at squab raising? as they would with a new toy, then give them up. 184 them and not with the pigeons. in town. I would like to get some pictures taken and show you some of the birds I got from yours. I found your book to be a book anybody can read and knows what he is read- ing about. Everything is so plain—what a beginner wants to know about breeding birds. I was thinking of sending you my third order. Tf I do, it will be next week. Hoping you are doing a good business. My birds are doing fine. Your birds are the best breeders and I won’t take any others.—S. C. H., Wisconsin. NEST BOWLS ALL RIGHT. Please find a money order for one dozen more of your nest bowls. They are O. K. Put them in the house one evening and on going in the next found that a pair had already taken posses- sion and started a nest. Have 11 pair setting on eggs and they are doing fine. I intend to purchase more from you later as I am going to build a unit to start this spring and enclose money for your plans for squab houses. Wishing you every success.—W. A., Massa- chusetts. ENLARGING. Enclosed find check for which please send me seven pairs of your Extra Homers and one dozen fibre nests. Send by American express. This time I would like to have different colored birds. The birds and supplies you sent me in Janu- ary came in good shape. I was well pleased with same. Am thinking some of putting in 50 or 100 pairs more this summer if I can arrange for another house.—H. B., Indiana. BEST EVER SEEN IN OKLAHOMA. Enclosed please find money order for which send me your best Extra Homers as specified. Send all blue-speckled birds, as shown on right of special offer sheet. Your last ship- ment of birds are fine ones and every one that has seen them say they are the finest they ever saw. Trusting these will be the same or better and that I may receive them at your earliest convenience.—W. H., Oklahoma. BUYING MORE AFTER ONE YEAR’S EXPERIENCE. A little over a year ago, I bought 24 pairs of your pigeons. Now I wish to buy 300 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and am fixing a house for them and will be in shape to receive 75 pairs a month, say March 1, April 1, May 1 and June 1. I see that $1.70 per pair is your price in lots of 300 pairs and upwards. I should want the best birds as I believe they are the cheapest. Now if this arrangement is all right, you can let me know and I will send you $127.50 for the first 75 pairs. I want your best birds.—E. F., Ohio. Some play at pigeons If they bought of us the trouble is with APPENDIX D (Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice) Squab market prospects for 1908 and 1909 are excellent, as encouraging as they ever have been — always a hungry demand. To keep the subject up to date we give on the following pages a fresh lot of facts bearing on the industry. We have pictures mostly contributed by customers to whom we have sold breeding stock. During the past ten years the demand for squabs has more than kept pace with the supply and this is true today (January, 1908) although the supply has been systemized by us and enormously increased, for in this period we have sold over half a million Homers, and we estimate that now there are breeding on the Western Continent, from these Plymouth Rock Homers, at least two million pairs of Homers. The squabs from these Homers bred from stock originally sold by us are in every market on this continent where poultry is sold. These figures show what we have done for the squab industry, and they are conservative. In fact, before we began shipping breeding stock, the squab business was of no volume. Our methods and our birds have created this new vast industry. Our efforts, of course, would have been useless without the co-operation of a large and enthusiastic body of customers, whose foyalty is our pride and satisfaction. - Let the good work goon. More people are going to eat squabs. Squabs for dinner are now a settled habit with hundreds of thousands of families. Our advertising constantly in the best periodicals suggests every week to many new people that squabs are a new delicacy for their © tables, and thus the demand grows. We print on left-hand pages immediately following letters received in December, 1907, from three representative New York squab buyers, Messrs. Silz, McLaughlin and Heineman. We have selected these to show the present eager market for squabs bred from our birds. They were written by these dealers when prices for everything were temporarily set back by the short-term panic. Prices for squabs during 1908 and 1909 will be as high or higher than in any previous year. We have selected these New York marketmen for reference because they have been largely instrumental in working with us to standardize and develop the national squab market. Mr. McLaughlin’s system of grading by weight per dozen is now in common use not only in his own city but all over the United States. Refuse to ship your squabs to anybody who offers you a small price based on count. Grade your squabs by weight and get what you are entitled to for the big squabs bred from our birds. Weigh them yourself and you will know just what you will get from the dealer. You will see in Mr. Silz’s letter that he is pleased to get squabs from our birds because they are so much better. Mr. McLaughlin advises our breeders, and to keep free from other kinds. Messrs. Heineman advise the use of nothing but our best breed of birds. This is expert testi- mony by practical business men who control the squab trade in the largest city in America. Knapp & Van Nostrand, 208 to 243 Washington street, New York City, write us under date of December 4, 1907, stating that they are paying the following prices for squabs. (This firm divides with the three others above mentioned the greater part of the enormous New York squab trade). ‘“‘ Ten to twelve pounds to the dozen, $4.50; nine pounds to the dozen, $4.00; eight pounds, $3.25.”’ Their letter continues: ‘‘ We receive and sell hundreds of dozens every week. Squabs from shippers mentioning your company compare favorably with general receipts. Sales have increased in New York.” When customers of curs wish to begin shipping squabs to the four firms above mentioned, or any other New York squab dealer, we give letters of introduction which will smooth the wav for them. 2 185 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 No matter in what part of the United States or Canada you live, we will put you in touch with your nearest best squab buyer, provided of course you have not a private trade of your own, which always pays best. In Pittsburg, for example. there is a concern which has a very large trade and is constantly after good squabs. They write us: ‘‘For eight-pound squabs we are paying $3.00 a dozen, nine-pound $4.25 a dozen. When communicating with your custom- ers, kindly let them quote us price on the different sizes. We would like to get in touch with some shippers who can supply us the year around with what squabs we want. We can use 100 pounds to 150 pounds per week. Kindly put us in touch with some good shippers.” A correspondent living in West 36th street, New York, writes us under date of October U2 1907, after personal investigation of the New York City markets: “I am studying up the squab business, with the intention of going at it up at my home in Pennsylvania, when I can con- veniently see my way to it. Your statement about the market for the product in 1902-1903 still seems to hold good here in New York. I was down at Washington Market not long ago to inquire of commission men how the call for squabs runs. They all said that the supply hardly equals the demand. Many of them were selling or offering for sale little bony, discolored SAEs that would hardly tempt a starved cat. So when I am ready I shall talk business with you.”’ In the first part of our Manual we quote prices in a great many cities in force in 1903 or thereabouts. We have not the space to follow the quotations in these cities year by year What is true of New York is true of Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Fran- cisco, Seattle, Portland, all the large places. The demand everywhere continues eager at high prices as you can readily find out for yourself if you live near a city. In your nearest city vou will ae Plymouth Rock squabs going in regularly to the dealers there and dominating the market. We quote as follows the prices prevailing in New York City from the summer of 1907 to the _end of the year. These quotations are not retail prices, remember, but are what a dealer paid breeders for supplying him with squabs. The first quotation. in each case, is for squabs weigh- ing ten pounds to the dozen. The second figure is for squabs weighing nine pounds to the dozen. The third figure is for squabs weighing eight pounds to the dozen: July 1 $4.50 $4.00 $3.20 July NACE MG oes SIE BC LO) 3.45 Deeley August De Waneichets ied n cnatecsaheseacte 4.20 3.50 3.00 Seuss Vo gabouccwooee donccon 25 3.50 Eo Septemibenus One gs ee See eee 50) Bo 5) 3.00 October Oe cre Trion Cd CREE eo RC aT 3.85 3) 25) November 40cm nee mmr On00 4.00 3.50 Wonwennlser WSs 5 none ooaduouuspoae tho 4.00 3.50 December other eee eo 3.60 8) December Oe a ee epee OO 3.40 3.20 The reader of all the quotations we print must be impressed that the chorus for the big Squabs grows each year larger in volume and more insistent. Dealers want the big ones and to get them they offer the very attractive bait of substantially-increased prices. It is folly for anybody to start breeding squabs now with inferior birds, for his squabs (weighing six or seven pounds to the dozen) will be crowded to the back of the counter in every market and the breeder will have to be content with a price which will pay for the grain, perhaps, but little more. This is not unsupported talk by us, unfounded sayso, but, in the words of our ex-Presi- dent, is a condition and not a theory. We have actually supplied the breeding stock whose Squabs now constitute the squab markets of the country and are making the weights and prices. Before we introduced the Plymouth Rock Extra Homers, there were in the New York or Philadelphia, or any markets, no squabs weighing over eight pounds to the dozen. No such Squabs were traded in because no such squabs existed, in commercial quantity. Now they are a the markets every day by thousands of dozens weighing from eight to twelve pounds to the ozen. The letters which we print on the following pages are selections from a large number received by us in 1907. These show a great many facts bearing upon all sides of the industry and we recommend their reading for the news they contain. Many of the writers note ways of their own showing original thinking and adaptation. We withhold the names and addresses of the writers for the business reasons stated so many times by us, but we assure new friends as well as old, that all are genuine, every one, written by real customers not connected with us in any way except by the sale of our birds and supplies to them. The original letters are filed at our office in Boston, where we will show them to anybody. If some one is holding back an order from us thinking that any letter here is ‘‘ made up,”’ and cannot come in person to Boston to see these letters, as many do, we will pay the fee of his representative living in or near Boston for examining our files and reporting. Write us first, and we will convince you if given the opportunity. LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 186 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 READ THIS STORY OF SUCCESS BY A MAN 80 YEARS OLD. HE HAS DONE SOME ORIGINAL AND EFFECTIVE THINKING. NO BUILDINGS FOR HIM. HE USES AN ATTIC ROOM AND GETS THERE.” Being old (80 years), failing sight drove me out of a mechanical business and the prospect before me was to live and lean on my children. I had always been a lover and keeper of pigeons from boyhood until a few years since when the telephone, etc. came, and I killed all off. My daughter saw your advertisement in a magazine and sent for your booklet. I saw at a glance the chance offered. I knew you were telling only what was the exact truth about pigeons, and the pictures showed them to be the best kind for the purpose. Had I been 20 years younger, I would have gone into it with all my means, so as it was I made a very modest beginning. In February, April and June you sent me three small lots, 40 in all, not your Extras. I put them in an attic where I had birds before with nest- boxes, some hung up, some on the floor, any way to keep them apart. They soon began to work. Six pairs had eggs ina week. When squabs began to come six, seven or eight at a time, a butcher took them, and since then we have given him over three dozen in one week. He first paid at rate of $3 per dozen and has risen twice since to now, $3.75, and has not been pushed. My daughter takes them in and gets the cash as if they were gold or wheat. The butcher says it is not the size but a plump breast that tells, so they go large and small many times, between seven and eight pounds to the dozen, bled and dressed. Of course my stock has been increased by some getting out of nest, or saving some peculiar color. I keep those with odd markings and know them personally. The first year the 18 pairs averaged eight pairs each. I do not keep them to be a month old as they would all be on the floor then and butcher looks for wool on head. Seeing none he says: ‘“‘ How long has this been flying?’ So Isend them at 24 or 25 days. The younger they go, the faster the old ones breed, as well as saving of feed. So since May, 1905, when I began with 18 pairs, I have sold 805 squabs and increased stock from 18 pairs to 56 pairs, and no stint of feed. I sell no manure. ; You are right on feed question. Cabbage is good. I give (when I have it) lettuce, parsley and even marshmallow weed and sunflower seeds, but my birds avoid wheat, eating very ee They know me personally, come in from outside when I go in and get down under my ‘feet. My attic where I breed is a queer shape, with two places for them to get outside, and feed boxes on floor to give them a chance to hide from the others at times. The other 20 pairs are in an old wagon-house with the boxes over head to be away from rats, and a cat there most of the time. I suffer some from the makeshift pens I have. I need the arrangement you have, though I have a third place for the young unmated. When a pair in that place gets young, say 14 days old, I move pair (box and all) at night into one of the regular units and that fetches them. But here comes what few and those only that know me will believe. In the course of this April and May seven pairs have had three eggs each. Three pairs hatched all and are gone to butcher. Two more are hatched and doing well and of the two to come, all eggs are good. Some have had one smaller than other two, then I take the small one and give it to another which has younger or some of same size. I am raising them all. The books say pigeons often have only one, but nothing about three. Are we getting a new breed? I have none for sale alive so this is no advertisement. For squabs I have received in money just double what I spend for feed.—D. G. L., New York. Note. There is a great deal of sound sense and experience in the ahove story of this valued customer, written by himself. Eighty years old, and with failing sight! Not much; he is young and keen. First, he had confidence that he was being tuld the truth by us and would get good birds, for he had known pigeons all his life. That is half the battle. He sold his squabs when they were plump, even if only three weeks old, before they had a chance to walk around and train off fat. He treated his birds so that they loved him. : _ His butcher had customers which evidently did not weigh the squabs. A small plump squab is good but a big, plump squab is what 99 dealers out of 100 are after, because they get much more money for them. The educated markets once supplied with the big ones do not fancy the smaller ones. Our customer if he had started with our Extras would not have been content to sell to the butcher, but would have looked up the butcher’s customers and received also the 50 per cent profit made by the butcher. As to three squabs in a nest, this comes to pass, but we never knew so many cases in a flock of this size at the same time. That was extraordinary. : _ His practice of changing the smaller squab in a nest for a squab of size equal to the one remain- ing is common. With two squabs in the nest, if one grows larger than the other, this means he is stronger and is continually stealing the share of the parents’ food belonging to the little one. Take the little one to another nest where there is a squab of its own size, bringing back a larger squab equal in size to the one in the first nest. His story of success is that of a small flock. He simply makes a small lot, housed in a crude way, pay in profits a share of the running expenses of the home. LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 187 CABLE ADDRESS Sit z NEW YORK,: TELEPHONE ‘4900 CHELSER, Wr. Elmer C. Rice, Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Masse Dear Sir:=- In reply to your letter of Nov. 27th, the present prices on Squabs you will find on the enclosed card. There will not be any let-up in the demand for Squabs if the prices remain normale The season for all game closes with the end of this month so there will naturally be a better demand for Squabs after that time to take the place of game. We use from 175 dozen to 200 dozen stuabs each daye Your Squabs are very much better than others, and I think you have accomplished wonders for the Squab industry, and every Squab raiser should feel grateful for your efforts in this line, and you could very appropriately be termed " KING " of the Squab_ business. Wishing to assist you in your continued efforts to put the Squab business ahead, we are, Very truly yours, Ae SILZ, Inc., 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 - THIS IS THE BREEDER OF WHOM WE WRITE AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 56 OF OUR MANUAL. HE FED WRONGLY AT THE START AND BLAMED US FOR NO RESULTS, BUT HE IS A GOOD FRIEND NOW AND HAS SEEN A GREAT LIGHT. C I think that it is up-to-date in every respect and in no way far-fetched, nothing but sensible, hard, experienced facts. Manual O.K. Accept my thanks. I received the new I notice that you speak of a California breeder using nothing but wheat and a handful of hemp with no return for six months. I presume it was me you refer to. active; working all the time. ing. have any one show me that they have as good birds as I have. Well, I deserve d it, for ‘ta guilty conscience needs no accuser.” I did not feed them enough to keep them alive. Now, Mr. Rice, money will not buy the birds. SO_ 1 Even now (September 11, 1907) they are in full force nest build- Ican point out lot of pairs which are now on their eighth lots of eggs. They are beauties, so plump, bright and I would like to It would be a very hard matter to convince me that there are any birds as good as the Plymouth Rock Homers of Boston. In short, any one who fai!s with those birds should not blame the birds or Mr. Rice, for it is up to them to handle them right. Do not think, Mr. Rice, that I am “ fishing ”’ for something. Far from it. I am only speaking as my true conscience dictates, that there are no better birds than yours. ounces. How is that? the goods. We have just weighed six squabs and they tipped the scales at five pounds, 13 Some will say that Homers cannot do as well as that but I can show The only trouble is the best I can get is $3 a dozen and a private trade at that. Have not had a chance to save over one dozen for breeders. As regards moxe birds. \ I certainly want more of your birds and will want only Extras, as I will use the Extras exclusively for raising my breeding stock. for them, as I am going to build four more houses. I will not be ready until spring Then I promise you a picture of my house worthy to goin your book. All I ask of you is to wait until I have completed my plans. Mr. Rice, I have some Maltese hen pigeons I wish to dispose of. _are mated pairs and the rest young ones ranging from two months to seven months. could trade me your Homers for them, or find me a customer I should thank you. omy kept them for fancy. GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IN CALI- FORNIA WELL PLEASED. The four pairs of Homers shipped to me on October 2, 1907, arrived to-day in apparently first-class con- dition. The birds appear to be satisfactory in every respect. I thaniz you for the extra pair; also for the supplies included. After the birds get to work I shall furnish vou with a further report, and if I have occasion to order again, shall not forget your prompt and liberal treatment.—C. W. L., Register, United States Land Office, Department of the Interior, California. BETTER AT $1.50 A PAIR THAN WHAT HE PAID OTHERS $2.50 A PAIR. SIX MORE ORDERS FOLLOW. I have received your Plymouth Rock pigeons which you sent me in perfect order. am very much pleased with them. They are as good as the ones I bought of and for $2.50 per pair.—P. P., New York. Note. The above customer has sent us in 1907 up to date (November) six orders. ONE HUNDRED MILES IN FIVE HOURS IN A STORM. Please send me one of your 1907 catalogues. The birds that I received in April, 1906, are doing finely. I broke them in at my loft. I flew one of them 100 miles, making the distance in five hours, in rain and storms. I will ship him 200 miles in a few weeks with others of my birds. I think he will do fine in his 200-mile race—J. M., Texas. There are about 20. Three If you I have Now I will close, wishing you the best of luck.—J. B. W., California. SATISFIED AND BUYS MORE. Some time ago I ordered a half-dozen pairs of pig- eons from you; at the same time I ordered six pairs from the I wish to say that I have now received all the birds and I have concluded that yours are the best. As soon as I get a little more ready money I expect to order more birds of you. It is my intention to build up a large flock just as soon as I can. lam perfectly satisfied in my dealing with you. You can publish any part of the above letter if you want to except the name of the other company. (Later). Enclosed find check for $18 for ue’ pairs of your Carneaux.—L. T. P., New ork, FIVE PAIRS OUT OF SIX IN TWO WEEKS AFTER ARRIVAL PROVES FAST MATINGS. Received pigeons two weeks ago. I think the Extras are far ahead of anything I have ever seen. I have had mine only two weeks and five pairs have already gone to work. Enclosed please find stamps for 37 cents for which send me by mail two feet of alum- inum tubing.—T. J. S., Iowa. BREEDING WELL IN TEXAS. I am doing fine with my pigeons and I think they are the best kind. I started with 14 in November and now (June, 1907), I have about 66. They are doing fine. I have sc many that I will have to order some wood- fibre nestbowls. Find enclosed $3.84 for which send me four dozen wood-fibre nest- bowls.—W. P. C., Texas. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 189 TEL. 1288 FRANKLIN. References:—All Commercial Agencies. Win. R. McLaughlin COMMISSION MERCHANT Poultry, Eggs, Game, Squabs, Calves Etc. 362 GREENWICH STREET NEW YORK November 29, 1907 Elmer C. Rice, Esq., Treasurer Plymouth Rock Squab CO., Boston, Mass. Dear Sir: Yours of the 27th duly received. I am pleased to hear from you once more. If beginners will stick to vour breeders, they will have no cause to complain as to size, quantity and quality of squabs, and net profits they receive from same. The demand is still good for all the fancy white large squabs we can get, and the market’ has kept at uniform price for a long time. In fact, since the new season started, there has been very little change in price. The small and mixed lots we must sell to out of town trade where everything looking like a squab zoes at a price; while the city trade want the larger bird and are willing to pay for them. Many do not buy enpugh breeders at the start so that they can ship a fair sized lot. I can use daily all the squabs I can get and do not look for prices to go any lower during the winter,---if anything, quite some advance. I think if any two need any praising as to results brought about, and profits to raisers, it is you and myself, as I was the first to in- troduce selling by weight according to size, and was laughed at for trying, even by those who would not now admit the change more than doubled their output. The one who does not like the change is the speculator who got the large birds for nothing, and the small birds at their actual value, and made the extra profit when selling to consumers. I would advise beginners to get a quantity of your breeders; keep free from other kinds. They will have no cause to find fault with results, and will always have a market and demand at good prices, for they can raise and ship at any time of the year. Serd me the names of: your customers yourself and I will post them as to the market, and send shipping cards. Yours truly, lot Uo anghll 190 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 STARTED WITH 12 PAIRS AND BRED THEM TO 100 PAIRS. ENLARGING BUILDINGS STEADILY. HAS COMPARED PLYMOUTH ROCKS WITH MANY AND FOUND NONE SUPERIOR. Your letter of October 24, 1907, received, and wish to thank you for the informa- tion furnisned. Two years ago I built a pigeon house ten feet by 20 feet,-nine feet high with a 20-foot fly, dividing the house and fly with wire screen, making two compartments. I purchased six pairs of your Homeys in September and six pairs more of youin February. To my surprise, three of these pairs started building their nests the day after their arrival, and, in fact, the 12 pairs went into the business of raising squabs and have been in the business ever since. I now have 100 pairs of the finest birds in the country; no question about that, as I have made it a point to visit quite a number of places to compare birds. and I am satisfied with my birds, if they are with theirs. Last winter I built another house of the same dimensions as given above, building at the lower end of the original fly. I took the wire screen from the end of the fly, and with it divided the fly into four parts, thus saving the expense of building a fly for the new house, and the birds do just as well with a ten-foot as with a 20-foot fly, I imagine. The total cost of the two houses and birds was about $175. It is my intention to sell squabs this winter (1907-1908) while prices are high, keeping the squabs hatched during the summer months for breeders, and saving the squabs from my best record birds as breeders, as I believe I will get even better results from them. In my opinion the squab business is similar to other business enterprises, requiring patience and hard work at the start, and if a man is a “‘ quitter? he will make no more money in the squab business than in any other line. I started in the business for the reason that I think there is good money init. My “‘ feathered race horses ”’ look good to me, and I am placing my money so that they come under the wire winners. : My advice to one starting in the squab business is to secure your birds and your Manual and then they will have started right. uture.—F.B., New York. MAKES HIS HOBBY PAY WITH TEN- PCGUND SQUABS. My success with your birds is the resuit of following the instructions in your Manual. When I enter mv squab- house, I always whistle so as not to frighten - them toa suddenly, and do not often take strangers into the loft. Am not troubled with lice. I disinfect about every two weeks. Mv squabs will weigh one pound apiece, or from 10 to 12 pounds to the dozen. Of course, I do not ever expect tu be an extensive breeder, as I have not the room, but I can accommodate about 75 pairs, and make a little money on the side, and enjoy taking care of them. Pigeon keeping was always my hobby ever since I was ten years old. I will say a good word for you and your birds at any time.—D. E. A.. Illinois. SMALL ORDER JUSTIFIES A LARGER ONE. The 13 pairs birds that you shipped to me in May have done su well that I feel justified in ordering four dozen more of your Extra Homers and 17 1-3 dozen nestbowls for which I enclose check. Your birds have been here nine weeks last Saturday and I now have twenty-five squabs, one having died.—F. M. J.. New York. INTEREST SHOWN IN WELFARE OF CUSTOMERS. I am very much obliged for the information given me. Once again, I cannot too highly praise you for your prompt- ness and interest shown in the welfare of your customers. I intend ordering some more birds from you and would like to know the best time to get them.—M. A. C., New York. Will try and send you a picture of my place in the near BETTER THAN ANY OTHER ST. LOUIS FLOCKS. I take this means to show you that I appreciate a fair, square deal such as you gave me. The birds are as you advertised them and are far superior in some respects to what you advertised. They are perfect pets and to my surprise they began building nests the second day after their arrival. They are far superior to any flocks which I have seen in St. Louis and as soon as I can find a suitable site. will erect some modern build- ings according to your Manual and stock it. with your birds. It will take several months to carry out my plans.—W. E. P., Missouri. FOURTEEN-FOLD INCREASE IN ONE YEAR IN NEBRASKA. About a year ago my father, who lives in Crete, Nebraska, purchased ten pairs Extra Plymouth Rock pigeons from you. They have increased to over twelve dozen pairs. I wish to get the whole flock if it is practical to ship them here, so I am writing to you for advice on the subiect Can you furnish shipping crates ?>— C. B., Vermont. HAS KEPT PIGEONS BEFORE AND KNOWS A GOOD LOT. The pigeons you shipped me arrived all right on Friday morn- ing. I notice the pairs were broken up (from the separation, I suppose) for four days, but they are now mating again. As I have kept pigeons before, I know a little about them. This is a good lot of pigeons and I thank you for your promptness in shipping.— J. R.S., Maryland. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 191 Telephone Call, 8261 Cortlandt. Hhuneman J Ce. COMMISSION MERCHANTS Bruits, Prediuce and Poultry, Southern Wegetables a. Specialty. 273 & 275 WASHINGTON STREET. OO) SCL & December 4, 792 7 Mr. Hamer C. Rice, Plymouth Rock Squab Co., Boston, Mass. Dear Sir, We wish to advise you on prices and general run of Bquabs which a goodly number of breeders of your fancy Homer pigeons are ‘shipping us. They are now selling from between $3.75 to $4.50 per dozen and, in all probability will go higher, as the winter advances. There is a good demand for this kind of birds and we are receiving quite a deal of them. We can handle anvwhere from one thousand to two thousand dozen @ week as dur trade constantly inquires for them. We can assure you that the breed of birds we get from our shippers are very fine and we notice a large majority of these same shippers mention your ‘hame, The market at vresent wants squabs weighing between 9 and 11 lbs. to the dozen, and we would advise any beginner to use nothing but your best breed of birds, as they are the cheapest in the end to him. We thank you for your kind consideration and past favors. We are Very truly vours, 192 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 HOW TO PRESERVE, COLLECT, BAG AND SELL THE MANURE. HOW TO_USE TOBACCO DUST FOR BOTH PIGEONS AND POULTRY. I have several hundred Homer pigeons raised entirely from stock purchased of you a little more than three years ago. I wish to write you to obtain information in regard to selling the manure. have your National Standard Squab Book in which you say you ship to the tannery and obtain 60 cents a bushel. I would like to know how you ship it. In bags or barrels? The manure has always been used on our farm, but I have recently been deprived of my husband and need the money very much, and as I cannot do the farming that he has done, feel obliged to sell the manure. It is free from sand or sawdust. The most foreign substance wil! be feathers and some little nesting material that they have scattered around, as of course I should not try to sell the old nests that would be nearly all nesting material. The packing will have to be done by my daughter and myself. JI have been told that it is bought by the bushel, but it would be a hard task to measure it all, as I am considerably over 60 years of age and very lame. I find the freight wil! be 21 cents per 100 from here and if I ship by weight it will be easier to measure it all by the bushel and they would have to take the freight agent’s figures instead of my measure. I have quite a quantity. Have measured up one bushel and found the weight 36 pounds, which at that rate would take only three bushels to weigh a little more than 100 pounds and I think I have 30 bushels or more.—Mrs. M. W., Rhode Island. Answer. Feathers and common nesting material in the manure will not hurt it any in the estimation of the tanners, but they like it free from gravel and from tobacco stems. The stems will discolor the hides in the vats. The manure varies in weight according to the amount of moisture in it. It should be dried and then bagged. two bushels to a bag. Buy a bushel measure and use it. Always ship in bags and get the bags back empty. They are worth at least five cents apiece even if second hand, as burlap has gone up. Squab raisers who use tobacco stems for nesting material cannot sell the manure to tanneries. The only reason for using tobacco stems is to ward off possible lice. The same result may be attained when straw or pine needles are used by dusting the nests now and then with tobacco dust. We sell tobacco dust for 11 cents a pound. It is equally good for poultry and is better ’ than many fancy lice powders selling for two or three times that price. We will supply 25 pounds of tobacco powder for $2. In smaller quantities 11 cents a pound. The-use of this powder will not injure the manure for tanneries. p SOME AGREEABLE DISAPPOINTMENTS I have not written you since receipt of birds, consequently will send you a word at this time. My first agreeable disappointment was the promptness with which you filled my order. I live 500 miles from Boston. I mailed my order for the pigeons at eight o'clock Wednesday morning and at five o’clock Friday evening the birds were waiting for me at the express office, just about 53 hours from the time I mailed my order until shipment was received. I had not expected to receive the shipment before eight days. The birds reached me in first-class condition— except for a few broken tail feathers you would have thotght they had never been out of their native loft. They lost very little time in getting climated, for three days after turning them loose they were nesting and soon all were hatching. In comparison with other Homers I have seen, everything is in favor of the Plymouth Rock breed. They are cleaner, better pro- portioned and less shy than any others I have seen. The squabs from these birds are everything an epicure could desire, big, fleshy and meat the whitest. I have only words of commendation for the stock of breeders you handle. I can only wish you increased sales of your excellent money makers. You are at liberty to use this letter to interest prospective customers or my name as a reference.—P. F., Pennsylvania. TEN PAIRS OUT OF THIRTEEN SPLEN- DID PAIRS QUICKLY AT WORK. Our cheese maker at Aldenville, Penn., ordered thirteen pairs of Homers from you. We have encouraged his going into the business for the reason that several months of the year they are not busy at the trade and could just as well care for a nice flock of Homers. The thirteen pairs received from you a few weeks ago are splendid specimens and ten pairs are at work at present. Not being contented, we wanted to mix the blood and ordered thir- teen pairs from an imitation squab company. The birds came yesterday and we are so badly disappointed in them that we would like yery much to return them, and not mix with our high-class birds received from you. We want eventually to put in a few hundred pairs of the party and will want from twenty to twenty-five pairs of your selected birds in a few weeks time. What will be the price and can you give us a fine lot?—G. S., Penn- sylvania. RAPID BREEDING IN MICHIGAN. I pur- chased of you last year three pairs Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and at this writing I have had them just one year and seven days, and instead of having three pairs I now have 24 pairs that can fly besides a dozen squabs and as many eggs. What do you think about that? As I am in need of nestbowls, please ~ send me three dozen of your wood fibre nest bowls.—R. E. F., Michigan. LETTERS RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 193 ‘sodud asa} UO 819449] 9} UL PezUulId aInsveld puL JUEUIIOPUOA Jo SUOISSeIdxa AyIvaY oy} JNO SULIG yey} spitq ey} e1v eSey], “soyse[ds ‘syovyq ‘SoATIS ‘stayoeyo pod ‘sroyooyo onfq ‘sivq anfq :eJey a1 Spit JUodGIUseUL asey} Jo SIO[OD oy} [TY “e4NZ0Id SIyy UI UAOYS [Jo oe UTEIS Ino Jo Aynveq puv ozZIS AIvUTpPsOvIyXe oy], ‘SUHNOH MOOU HLNOWATd VULXa 194 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 1907 HIS FRIEND PURCHASED 12 PAIRS OF US THREE YEARS AGO, IS NOW SHIPPING SQUABS FROM 300 PAIRS AND CLEARED $1000 LAST YEAR, A HIRED MAN DOING THE ORK. You have been recommended to me by a friend who three years ago purchased 12 pairs of Homers from you and he has to-day 300 pairs and cleared $1000 last year without any labor on his part. He simply instructed a common laborer. I am very much interested in squab raising. I am now attending the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. I live in Chicago and it seems to me that would be a good market. The first six months I intend to raise for breeding purposes, and then if I succeed can put $200 or $300 more in squab raising. Do you consider this plan practical as I have outlined it?—G. C., Iowa. Answer. Remarkable successes are being made by customers of ours who started with 12 pairs to 50 pairs and raised up their own birds. It is not wise, however, to start with less than 12 pairs of birds, unless your stock of patience is large and you can stand waiting for two or three years before getting returns for your money. The trouble with beginners who have failed is that they have tried to do too much too fast. RATS AND DIARRHOEA. As I am sure you are very good authority on the pigeon question, being first in the business and revolutionizing it, I hope you will not count it amiss or intruding for me to appeal to you (to use court language) for help and advice. We have lots of mice in our pigeon house. What could one use or do to kill or frighten them away with perfect safety? The second troublesome thing is what I call the shivers. The pigeons get to shaking violently and seem to lose nearly all interest in everything. Your birds beat anything we have from else- where at most every ‘‘ turn,” I might say. Indeed, some we have from another near by who gave us a written guarantee “ for health, good workers, heavy squabs, no canker and all mated birds,’ proved in nearly every instance a sham, for they were not even mated except a few pairs, out of a hundred pairs, and died right along, and they were not mated for over a year after they came. Yours are tame also, they will eat out of our hands. I think those broad-shouldered, thick-legged blue (with black broad bars over wings) are very good ones, We raised some nice breeders from them. A friend of ours at Marlton, New Jersey, spoke of getting nice birds of you. I have made interesting visits among the pigeon keepers in New Jersey.— Miss M. H. B., Pennsylvania. Answer. Rats and mice, as we have ex- plained so many times, must be kept out by elevating the building. If it is impossible to do this, take one-inch mesh wire netting and bury it completely in the dirt floor, six inches deep. At the sides and corners bring it up above the sills of the building and fasten it with staples. This will give you a wire-net- ting carpet for your squab house (buried six inches under the ground), and through this barrier it is impossible for rats or mice to get. It is a hard task to exterminate them by poison or traps after they have once got in to an improperly-arranged place, and if _you succeed they are bound to come again. Do it right by elevating your building or burying wire nettine and that will end the bother. What this customer calls the shivers is diarrhoea caused by feeding too much wheat. TWO PAIRS ONLY. I am going into the squab industry in a very small way to raise a few birds for our own use and find a pleasur- able occupation as an aside. I shall later want a few pairs of your birds. I bought some time ago ten pairs of another company, but so far am sure of only two pairs in the lot and they have given me no little trouble.— Rey. G. B. L., Vermont. NINE AND ONE-HALF POUNDS TO THE DOZEN AND SOLD FOR FOUR DOLLARS. Will you kindly inform me to whom to write about disposing of pigeon droppings. I made the first sale of squabs last week. They weighed nine and one-half pounds to the dozen, plucked, bled, empty crops. I received four dollars for them. How is that?—F.H.S., 10. GENERAL VERDICT. Please send me addresses of New York squab dealers. I received the three pairs of Extra Plymouths; all were in fine condition. My friends all say they never saw a nicer lot of Homers. I also thank you for the prompt shipment. I expect to send for another lot in about a month.—J. B. S., Pennsylvania. SQUABS TWO WEEKS OLD WEIGHING THREE-QUARTERS OF A POUND IN COLORADO. Birds ordered of you some days ago reached me in pretty fair shape, with the exception of one male dead. Thank you for your splendid treatment to my order. Squabs from the first lot at two weeks weighed three-quarters of a pound. How is that? Will return baskets in a few days.— J. F. B., Colorado. BEST BOOK ON BIRDS HE EVER READ. I received your Manual and find it just what you say. It is the best book on birds I ever read. I have a large plant of common pigeons but since I read your book I have built one of the prettiest pigeon houses and flying pens in which to put the pigeons J am ordering of you to-day. If your birds are as fine as you, say I will get rid of all my common pigeons.—C. E. G., North Carolina. eee LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 195 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS - 1908 A GOOD-LOOKING ILLINOIS PLANT. ee are two of the buildings of the breeder whose letter is printed on this page. Notice his handsome white omers. LOST MONEY BY NOT KNOWING PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. NOW HE IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK. HE IS A TRAVELING SALESMAN AND HIS DAUGHTER DOES MOST OF THE WORK ON THiS BIG PLANT. SQUABS WEIGH 11 PCUNDS TO THE DOZEN. I have just completed my new squab unit according to your plans. Please find enclosed Adams Express money order for birds to fill same. Other parties have been working on me for this order and I told them I would buy nothing but Extra Plymouth Rocks. (A burnt child dreads the fire.) I lost enough by experimenting with cheap birds when I began. Since I began buying of you I have had no trouble. The last three shipments I received from you cannot be beat for size, beauty and breeding qualities. About one-third of all the squabs I have sold in the past 12 months have averaged a little over 11 pounds to the dozen. We have quite a lot of squabs that weighed a full sixteen ounces each, Now, Mr. Rice, as long as you continue to ship me in the future as fine stock as you have in the past, I am with you and the Plymouth Rock Co., and “‘ the other fellow ’? might just as well save his postage stamps and breath. I have not lost a single old bird by death or disease in 14 months. We had three or four squabs picked badly. I found by taking the squabs away at three weeks of age and placing them in a small feeding pen and feeding hempseed for a week that they fatten awfully fast. What is your idea about that? I hope you will excuse this long letter. Every time I think about my experience at the start with all kinds of mixed up birds, I have ‘‘ brain storms’ and you can rest assured my talk over the country will be for nothing but Plymouth Rock birds. As you know I am a traveling man and ought to be a good talker. Consequently in order to repay you for favors in the past I often tell my experiences and how I lost money by not knowing Elmer Rice. ile My oldest daughter does all our feeding and taking care of our birds and she is getting to be an expert pigeon keeper and delights in the pastime. We are figuring on increasing our flocks just as fast as we can until we get 2000 pairs.—S. S. H., Illinois. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 196 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS POOR WHEAT SET HIM BACK. HE SELLS ALL HE RAISES, THE SQUABS BEING ENGAGED BY CUSTOMERS EVEN WHILE THEY ARE ON THE NEST. I write to you for information concerning my flock of birds. I got my stock from you in 1904, and have been building up my flock. I got along finely with them until the latter part of last summer when I had tae bad luck to lose about 20 or 25 of the old birds, which broke the mated pairs up. I would like to increase my flock to the full capacity of the house built from your unit plan, 12 by 16. I lay the loss of my birds to some poor wheat I got from the mill here that must have contained a good deal of erget that caused the females to die. I wrote to Mr. Rice at the time and he told me it was the wheat, at least I have had no more trouble since I commenced feeding first quality grain. The squabs weigh 12 to 14 pounds a dozen. I herewith send an order for 12 females to balance my flock. . My original purchase of you in 1904 was six pairs Extra Plymouth Rocks. The birds arrived all safe and in good condition and attracted a good deal of attention at the time, for some of my friends put on a broad smile and have been expecting me to bust up in the pigeon business, but have been at it now for over two years and the order accompanying this don’t look much like it for I can sell all the squabs I can raise. They are even engaged before they are fit to take off the nest. I get 50 cents a pair just killed, and if I dress them ready for the oven I get 75 cents a pair in the local market. My squabs will weigh 12 or 14 pounds per dozen, and think it is on account of the way I am handling and feeding, for I find you cannot make meat unless you feed for it. I make my own grit of glass and it has been very satisfactory. I keep a counle of bricks of salt cat in the house, also a codfish occasionally, and tney are doing fine now, if I did have some bad luck, but then one must expect drawbacks in any kind of business.—A. D. D., Pennsylvania. Note. You will never have sickness of any kind with pigeons if you provide sound grain and clean water. If your grain dealer needs watching, and has not vour interests at heart, eXamine especially the wheat and corn, tasting both. Some grain dealers will take whole corn which has germinated and make cracked corn of it. You can always tell sour grain by smell, taste and sight. It is quite true, as this customer states, that feed is a facter in the weight of the squabs. Too much wheat keeps the old birds thin, and the sauabs dark and thin. Plenty of corn and peas makes the squabs fat. 1907 1908 DISPOSING OF THE SQUABS IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHEN THEY REACH THE AGE OF 23 DAYS. RECEIVING THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN. Our order for 17 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers was placed with you early in March (1907) and the birds arrived and were placed in our pen about the 20th. They were all in good shape, having stood the trans- portation well, and made themselves entirely at home in their new quarters. The day follow- ing their arrival one of the hens laid, and from that time until now (June 24) the flock, as a whole, has worked splendidly, and results have far exceeded our expectations. At the present time 15 of the 17 pairs are at work, having either eggs or young squabs. We believe that every pair would have been at work, but two of our hens escaped, and we had to order two more to replace these, and this accident upset our flock considerably. We find that the squabs will weigh from three-quarters to seven-eighths of a pound when they are three weeks and two or three days old, and we have been disposing of them at that age. No doubt, this fast growing is due to the equable climate which we have in South Carolina. We have no trouble in disposing of all our birds at that age at 25 cents apiece. The pigeons do not require much of our time, and we are so thoroughly satisfied with our experience that we are considering ordering 20 more pairs in the next few days.—Mrs. C. B., South Carolina. RECEIVES $4.20 A DOZEN. My squabs from your birds weigh when dressed nine SQUABS WEIGHING FOURTEEN TO SIXTEEN OUNCES. It is now July, 1907, six months since we purchaz:d from you 44 pairs of your Extra Homers. J ven pairs met with accidents, because they were disturbed several times on account of the plant not being finished. The remaining 37 pairs are in every way satisfactory. We have at present 11 pairs on eggs and 21 squabs. On account of not having too much room for the birds and also to answer the many demands of our sick, we are killing the squabs at three to four weeks when we find them to weigh 14 to 16 ounces, and at which time the mature birds are again breeding.—S. E., Illinois. pounds to the dozen and I receive at the rate of $4.20 per dozen for them. I have fed corn, wheat, peas and millet, buckwheat and bread. I have had success by letting the squabs on the floor when they are four weeks old, that is, when I am going to keep them for breeders. They are not troubled by the other birds and they feed themselves sooner and the old birds get to work earlier. J have had no sickness or lice. Your Manual is all right and is good for the starter and experienced.—P. E. D., Dis- trict of Columbia. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 197 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 SHOWING CONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA. This building, part of the plant of a Florida customer, is built of only one thickness of lumber. Only the roof is shingled. No glass windows are needed. The climate of the South is exceptionally good for squab breeding. SUCCESSFUL FLORIDA SQUAB FARMER SAYS THE CLIMATE OF HIS STATE CANNOT BE BEAT. LIKES THE CARNEAUX. The Carneaux arrived here yesterday. I am much pleased with them. They show more white than the birds which my mother sent me from France and are larger. The more I see of the Carneaux, the more I like them, and wish I had nothing but them in my squab farm. I believe there is going to be a tremendous run on them as breeders. : My Homers are mated and all hard at work. I was fool enough last spring of 1906 to band the mated birds of that season with colored bands, blue for cocks, red for hens. The bands I bought from —————,, who guaranteed that they would last a lifetime. I note at least one- third have broken and come off. I shall have to reband 300 pairs over again. No more colored bands for me. sf Enclosed find check, for which send as specified. You will be glad to hear that Iam making a success of the squab business, and now have 700 mated pairs. As soon as the fall commences and the price of‘eight to nine pound squabs advances from its present low standing here, I am thinking of starting to ship to the New York markets. In this Southern climate our birds work better and faster, produce far better grade of squabs in the winter and spring months than in the summer; while I understand with you the summer is your best time. I believe our Florida climate cannot be beat for squab farming. Tf I like and find out that the Carneau is all it is cracked up to be, 50 per cent of my Homers will be replaced gradually by them.—W. B. W., Florida. HEALTHY, RUGGED BIRDS. Enclosed HIS FATHER IN IOWA LIKES THEM. please find draft for $11.52 for one gross of My father at Des Moines, Iowa, is breeding your nappies. The birds I got of you last your birds and likes them very much. Please Spring are all right. I have not lost a one send me present price on 10 and 20 pairs with sickness or any other cause—A. M. J., Homers. I want the best that I can get Towa. regardless of cost.—C. H. D., Illinois. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 198 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 KNOWS BY EXPERIENCE THERE IS MONEY IN PIGEONS. MANUAL “ AWFUL GOOD.”’ I trust you will pardon my tardi- ness in answering your letter with reference to the new National Standard Squab Book. Of course I want this book. I do not send for these books through any idle curiosity. I have kept pigeons and I know there is money in them if they are properly looked after. I want to get back in the pigeon business after the first of the year, and intend to do so, and I want to start with the best birds I can get. I think the National Standard Squab Book very fine. It is “awful good.” More pleasure and satisfaction than I can express. Don’t know of any improvements you could make, unless you went ahead and said the same thing over again. I enclose 20 cents in stamps for your new 1907-1908 Manual. I also send by this mail, under separate cover, the old Manual. I intended to purchase some of your birds when I sent for your book, but conditions have been such that it has been impossible. Can’t say exactly when, but will buy some of your birds soon. The main reason I haven’t bought some of your birds is because I haven’t had any ‘place to keep them. I have kept pigeons all my life, know a great deal about their habits, and above all, I am very fond of them. How- ever, I had to dispose of all the birds I had about 18 months ago, and since that time I haven’t had the room to keep them. I had to dispose of them on account of having to leave Atlanta. My lease on my present home runs out about January 10, 1908, at which time I expect to buy me a place with large premises, where I can keep pigeons, as I made a good deal of money on then during my school] days, and believe I can do so now as a side line if nothing more,—M, R, L., Georgia. PLEASED WITH YOUR BUSINESS METHODS AND BUYING STEADILY. I have never seen a more likely lot of pigeons, and as I have room enough for another 10 pairs, I enclose P. O. order and I hope that before the next batch arrives I shall be ready for fifty more pairs. I am very much pleased with the manner in which the Ply- out Rock Squab Co. does business.— W. J., Virginia. MAKING THEM PAY AS HE GOES ALONG. I now have seventy. One year ago last March I bought six pairs from you. I want a better start before I sell very many, but I make them pay for their feed. Your Manual is ‘the goods.’’—D. E., Illinois, HIS HOMERS LOOK LIKE PYGMIES ALONGSIDE PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. I have 60 Homers, but they look like pygmies -alongside of your birds. —F, W. D. OUR HOMERS MORE THAN WE CLAIM FOR THEM. Your Homers are more than you claim for them. At least mine are. They are models of beauty and are very large. I was skeptical at first, but I am thoroughly convinced that the Homer is the only bird. Some of my Homers are as large as the white Italian birds that I purchased from you. The squabs are fine large fellows and I am sure that a nice flock of Homers beats a drove of chickens for meat, either for home or market use. I shall take pleasure in recom- mending your birds to my friends and prospective buyers. Please find enclosed 50 cents for another Manual.—M. A., Kansas. HOMER HEN SITTING ON EGGS. PIGEONS CRAVE GREEN FOOD. I bought of you June 20, 1906, 24 pairs of your Homers. I have lost three birds, all of my taising, and now have 100 pairs (April, 1907). They all seem to crave something green to eat. What would you advise? Shall I feed them any green foods? I am giving them kaffir corn, a few peas, wheat and cracked corn.—F. M. P., Georgia. Answer. Yes, throw some lettuce or any green leaves on to the squab-house floor occasionally, say twice a week, and let them peck away at them to suit themselves. WISHES TO GET PIGEONS OF SUPERIOR QUALITY. You may hear from a gentleman, Mr John Fyle. Send him some of your literature, as I will always recommend your stock to all who expect to go into the squab Susiness. This Mr. Fyle has pigeons, but of an inferior quality, and having been told about mine, wants some like I have.—R. S., Maryland. eee LEIT1ERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 199 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS LIGHTED BY ELECTRICITY AND HEATED BY STEAM. This shows part of the up-to-date plant of the customer in New York State whose letter is printed on this page. PAYING PLANT IN HANDSOME BUILD- INGS. I enclose photograph showing my four units and office room. The building is made of matched lumber so that they are ab- solutely air-tight if so desired. It is equipped with steam heat, electric light, hot and cold water and both telephone systems. In the office room the grain bins are zinc-lined and moisture proof. The top is upholstered so that when the lid is down the room has a very pleasant appearance, I have today broken ground for two more units, as my young birds are coming on so fast that I must make room for them. Be- sides supplying the Elmira market, I am say- ing my most promising young ones in order to increase my flock. I have bought from you exclusively because I liked your business methods and believe you are fair and square. Your birds are good breeders and throw heavy, white-skinned squabs. Business is good and as fast as I make money I enlarge my plant.—L. S. W., New York. SOME AT WORK AFTER LONG JOUR- NEY. The pigeons (dozen pairs) arrived, August 12, in good condition with the excep- tion that two of them had each one wing hurt. I have waited to see how badly they were hurt before writing, but think they will pull through all right for one of them has taken a mate and is building on the floor of the pigeon house. Five pairs of them are building and three pairs are driving, while several others are paired off.—B. V., State of Washington. The birds hanging in front of the brown paper are squabs just killed to get them into the picture. FINEST BIRDS PERFECTLY MATED. CHANGED HIS HOUSES. I want to tell you about my birds. I received them the Satur- day of the week you shipped them, turned them out on Monday and they went right to building. I have got three setting and I see the others are starting to build. They went right to work without any trouble. They go into the house every night just as if they were raised there. They are the finest birds I ever saw. I have just finished another large pigeon house and flying pen and I have put my white ones into it. Since I read your Manual I have changed most all my pigeon houses. I find they are so much better than mine. If any one is going into the pigeon business I would advise them to get one of your books on birds. I am sorry I did not get one long ago. Just as soon as I can get rid of my common pigeons I want to replace them with yours. I have got to build another pigeon house and it will be about October before I get through with it, and I shall need nestbowls and other supplies,—C. E. G., North Carolina. : SMALL ORDER FOLLOWED BY LARGER. Enclosed you will find an express money order, for which please ship me the following: 12 pairs Extra Homers, one dozen wood-fibre bowls, 25 pounds hempseed, 100 pounds Canada peas. Please ship as soon as possible. The three pairs of Extra Homers you sent Tuesday reached here Thursday in fine condition. Thank you for your prompt shipment.—G. J. A., New Jersey. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 200 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 ‘NEW JERSEY WOMAN RECEIVES $4.00 TO $7.00 A DOZEN FOR SQUABS FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. From the six pairs of birds I bought from you in 1905 and the extra pair you kindly gave me I have raised 215 birds. My squabs average 11 pounds to the dozen, sometimes more. The birds work all the time. They breed on the average of nine pairs every year. I have never had to give them a drop of medicine since I have had themas they keep in perfect health. I have lost about five pairs of squabs from the rats getting them, but never any from sickness. I have built my coops after your suggestions in your book, The National Standard Squab Book, and am not troubled any more from rats. I have never seen any birds to compare with mine in size. I have seen hundreds of pigeons but every one praises mine upand remarks how large, full and broad they are across the breast. So far I have been selling my squabs here in town. They bring from $4.00 to $7.00 per dozen, according to the time of year. This price I get for them right out of the nest without killing or picking. : I feed kaffir corn, cracked corn and wheat every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday I give them hemp seed and Canada peas (on trays) as much as they will eat. They have fresh water twice a day in summer and once in winter and once every week I scald out their drinking fountains with hot water to keep them sweet and clean. I have one box of grit and one of oyster shells in the coop all the time and instead of putting it on the yard floor I put it in boxes. I also have a lump of rock salt and a salt-cat in each coop made as directed in your Manual. Once a week I clean their coops and take the white- wash pail in with me and whitewash the boxes out and sprinkle slaked lime on the floors of the coops and the yards. Your book has been a great help to me, and I have read it over many times and try to follow its directions in every particular. I am thoroughly satisfied with my birds and feel I have had great success with them and would not have any other breed or kind were they to be given to me free. I am now ordering 30 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, same as I got before in 1905, making $75.00 worth, at ‘the rate of $2.50 per pair. I enclose check for same, $75.00.—Mrs. S. Vv. 12%, New Jersey. QUICK START BY A 700-PAIR FLOCK. —In January and February, 1907, a customer in the Mississippi valley bought 700 pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. On arrival of the birds he wrote: ‘‘ They are as fine a lct of thoroughbreds as I ever saw. You deserve the success you enjoy for your business methods.’ The last consignment left us February 4 and reached him February 8. Nineteen days later he wrote us: ‘Our birds are doing very well. Have 400 pairs of eggs and squabs in the house, and probably 50 pairs driving. If the market will take all of our supply next month, we will put up another house at once and buy the birds of you, for you have always been fair and just with me.”’ On March 5 he wrote: “‘ Our squab house is a mass of squahs and eggs. The birds were at work within three days after placing them in their rooms, which shows that the wood fibre bowls and surroundings suited them, and that they were properly mated. The special lot of 50 pairs is the most remarkable pen we have everseen. In 30 days after their arrival, there were 40 pairs on eggs. We feel it our duty to compliment you on your fair, honorable and just dealings with us.”’ SIX DOLLARS A DOZEN IN CANADA FOR SQUABS WEIGHING NEARLY ONE POUND EACH. About two years ago I purchased !from you 15 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. They have given excellent satisfaction in every way. All the squabs raised in two summers weighed 10-12 pounds to the dozen and at all times I was able to get $6.00 per dozen for them, indeed, I could not nearly.supply the demand. I had offers to supply one of the largest hotels in Canada if I had enough stock. I think I am as enthusiastic a squab raiser as can be found. I have always kept fancy pigcons for pleasure, but never until I raised these from you have I raised squabs to sell.—A. M., anada. INCREASE TWENTY-ONE FOLD IN TWO YEARS IN OKLAHOMA. Would you please inform me where to ship the pigeon manure to a tannery? We have 200 pairs and we have burned 15 bushels this year. As I heard that you shipped the manure, I thought that I would write to you for my information. We are thinking of getting some more pigeons from you. Two years ago the 15th of pe ruay we got 11 pairs from your Company and now we have 231 pairs from those 11 pairs.—C. O. L., Oklahoma. BIG FLOCK IN KANSAS BRED FROM SMALL BEGINNING. Some two years ago I pur- chased from you 38 Homer pigeons. I now havea pen of 500 of the nicest birds in this locality. I am expecting to build larger pens and divide the bunch, and I wish to get all the printed matter I can on the subject of squab breeding, also all the information you can give me by letter regarding the mating of birds, even if I have to pay a reasonable fee. Please let me hear from you by return mail and oblige. =. G., Kansas. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 201 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 ON A POLE AT TOP OF FLYING PEN. INDIANA WOMAN WON FIRST PRIZE AT HER FAIR. QUICK INCREASE IN SMALL FLOCK. HOW SHE FEEDS THEM AND CARES FOR THEM. In the spring of 1907 I bought 15 pairs of your Plymouth Rock Homers. In March they started to build their nests. At present (October) I have 82 young squabs with eight pairs on eggs. When the squabs are four weeks old they weigh 14 to 16 ounces apiece. They are very rich eating. One pair of birds raised me from six to seven pairs of young squabs (in less than eight months). When the squabs are two weeks old I clean their nestbowls out twice a week. Twice a week I sprinkle slaked lime around. I use tobacco stems. Also every day I give my coop a good cleaning. I have no kind of lice. I sprinkle a little slaked lime on the floor. I have a good many visitors. They say, how can you keep it so clean? Mr. Kline, Mr. Martin and several others were here to look at my birds. They thought they were fine. Some of my young birds are larger than some of the old birds. Some of the young birds have raised some young squabs for the second time, of which the first eggs were no good. I feed my birds in the morning. I give cracked corn, wheat, kaffir corn, buckwheat and barley, all mixed together and feed fresh water, plenty of it. Also their morning bath. This is their morning feed. At noon they get lettuce or cabbage leaves or Swiss chard. They are very fond of dry bread or cake. In the evening I feed the same as the morning feed except I scald a little oats; when cold, I mix it with the other feed. I put a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in their drinking water once a month. Iam feeding sunflower seed once a week. When my young birds are six weeks old I pull their tail feathers out. I find out they do better. It seems to help them to shed their feathers quicker. J band my birds when four weeks old and place them in another coop. My coop is 16 feet long, 12 feet high, 10 feet wide, with a double floor with tar paper between, also it is lined with tar paper and has three large windows in it. I have 132 nest boxes. They are 12 inches square. I build them like you have them in your squab book. I would like to send you a picture of the squab house, but I planted lima beans and spun them up the wire. I will send you a picture later on. I got first prize at the fair. I have seen several kinds of Pigeons but they don’t compare with mine in size and weight. We eat squabs about every Sunday. I make pot pie, also I have soup. I make what you might call noodle soup. They are the best stuffed with dressing made with one egg, one onion cut fine, little parsley, pinch of salt and pepper, a little grated nutmeg, the hearts and gizzards of the birds and bread broken in small pieces, water enough to moisten. This is enough for three birds to dress.—Mrs. S. B.. Indiana. MOVED HIS FLOCK, BUYING MORE. About a year ago, I purchased 12 pairs of Homer pigeons from you. At that time I was located at Lowder, Ill. About February 15 this year (1907) I moved them from Lowder to Waverly, which is about eight miles. I now have 34 pairs. Will be in the market for more birds at once. Also quote me prices on supplies.—G. C. H., Illinois. ONE-POUND SQUABS. NEVER LESS THAN $3 AND AS HIGH AS $4.50 A DOZEN OBTAINED IN SOUTH DAKOTA. In Sep- tember, 1905, I bought some Homer pigeons from you. Most all squabs that I have taised from your Extra Homers weigh one pound at five weeks old and I have got as high as $4.50 per dozen for them, never less than $3 per dozen. You may use this information as it is correct.—J. H. K., South Dakota. NO AILING PIGEONS. Well, it has been some time since I received the 13 pairs pigeons from you and I will say I am quite well satisfied with them. They are all work- ing but two pair and I have quite a bunch of good healthy young ones in my rearing pen and think I would have had more if I had given them more time and care, but I have too much other work. I keep the house clean and have it white- washed, and don’t believe I have an ailing pigeon in the loft. I think I have some lice but they are not bad. I spray my lofts once or twice a week, being careful to choose a bright, warm day.—C. R., Illinois. VERY FINE FLOCK. I purchased some of your Plymouth Rock Homers a few years ago. I have a very fine flock of birds now.— J. M. W., Pennsylvania. eee aaa aaa LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 202 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 FIRST PRIZE ON ONE PAIR, FIRST PRIZE ON COOP OF FOUR PAIRS, COMPETITION LIVELY AMONG SEVERAL HUNDRED BIRDS. I promised to write you about the birds when the Fair was over. I will do so now. (September, 1907.) I took first money on one pair, the speckled wing birds, and first prize ribbon on coop of four pairs. Three of the pairs IT secured from you and one pair from my pen. The judge said that the hen bird was fine, but cock not so good. Of course I did not have time to trim them or fix them up for the occasion. I had to go up against several pigeon fanciers but came out with flying colors all the same. We had several hundred birds of different kinds at the Fair. I informed several where those birds came from and how long Ihadthem. Hoping this will be as satisfactory to you as it is to me.— A. C. M., Maryland. TOOK ONE PAIR TO EXHIBITION, WON FIRST PRIZE, WAS OFFERED FIVE DOLLARS FOR THEM, TURNED DOWN OFFER. It has been a long time since you have heard from me. In the first place, I must let you know that my birds are getting along very nicely. 1 am very well pleased. I have 15 pairs of old birds and 75 young birds. I took one pair to the County Fair. They were red checkers. I received first prize. I was offered $5 for the pair of birds. I told that man that I would not sell my birds and that if he wanted any birds I would give him your address so he could buy some.—Mrs. B. A., Indiana. BEST PAIR OF HOMERS IN THIS ALABAMA COUNTY EXHIBITION. ORDERS MORE BIRDS. Your favor of October 19, 1907, was duly received. In answer to your query about our winning the prize on our Homers at the County Fair, we will state your information is correct. We won the prize for the best pair of Homers with a pair of blacks we got from you. We expect to make a better display at the next Annual Fair and if we see that we have a lot of prize winners we will probably enter them at the State Fair at Birmingham. We hope you will assist us in our efforts by sending us extra good birds in our next order.—C. O., Alabama. TOOK 18 TO THE CENTRAL MAINE FAIR AND WON 11 PREMIUMS. I have over 100 pigeons on hand. I purchased three pairs of you at $2.50 per pair and bought two pairs of C. E. Melvin at $2 a pair, and this is the product of the two kinds. I took 18 of them to the Central . Maine Fair at Waterville the past week (September, 1907) and got 11 premiums on the 18 birds. The others are all about the same, good, healthy birds.—S. A. P., Maine. FIRST AND SECOND PREMIUMS AND SPECIAL COMMENDATION AT THIS ILLINOIS POULTRY SHOW. The pigeons you sent me obtained the first and second premiums at the poultry show with special commendation. I was informed the judges stated that one pair in particular would be very hard to beat anywhere. I thoroughly demonstrated that ‘“‘ blood tells.’—O. J., Illinois. ANOTHER WON FIRST PRIZE AT AN ILLINOIS COUNTY FAIR. They have won first prize at the County Fair. Homers bought. They are fine. for pigeon houses.—T. H. W., Illinois. ONE CUSTOMER WON THE PRIZES AT THE FAIR WITH OUR BIRDS AND HIS NEIGHBOR WISHES TO GET SOMETHING TO BEAT THAT. Enclosed you will find money order for which please send me three pairs No. 1 Homers, one drinker and six bowls. Colors, one pair blue checkers, one pair reds and one pair blacks. Please send mated birds. Send some good birds because I want to beat your customer Mr. N. in the poultry show here soon. He got the prize at the Fair. I have some blue barred hens. Please send me all the circulars that you send out because I want to start in the business right.—B. R., Alabama. COW PEAS SUBSTITUTED FOR CANADA PEAS. I enclose you what they call “‘ cow peas ”? here to ask you if they are what you call “‘ Canada peas.” The pigeons I got of you are satisfactory in every respect. Will probably get more March 1.—D. H., Illinois. Answer. Cow peas are not Canada peas but they are fed largely to pigeons and if they are plentiful in your State, feed them. I have some of your Send -plans BETTER BIRDS THAN ANY IN THE BIG POULTRY AND PIGEON SHOW IN MONTANA. WANTED SOMEBODY HE COULD RELY ON FOR THE GENUINE. I am very well pleased with the stock I received to-day. They are the finest lot of pigeons I ever saw. I received your letter and direc- tions this morning and the pigeons this after- noon. Thank you for the prompt and careful selection you gave me. Many thanks for the extra pair of pigeons. They seemed glad to get out of the box. They look fine for the long trip and all perfectly well. I did not expect to see such fine birds for I did not know how they wouid get through the snow blockade in the Dakotas. Although I have seen only one letter from your customers in Montana, I think that if I follow your direc- tions closely, I can make a success of it. There ought to be a good market here and in the big poultry and pigeon show there were none could stand beside these. The “‘ National Standard Squab Book ” convinced me that I wanted somebody I could rely upon for the genuine —M. G.'S., Montana. — LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 203 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 CHEAPEST POSSIBLE CONSTRUCTION. Single boarding, covered with roofing, no shingles. The long, shallow wood trough is for the birds to bathe in. The water enters from a faucet in the foreground, After the birds have bathed, the water is emptied by pulling a plug at the end. The trough is cleaned with a broom. The man who sends this photograph writes: ‘“‘I raised 1650 young ones from March 1, 1907 to July 1, 1907 (four months) from 450 pairs of breeders in this building.’’ MADE A TRIP SOUTH AS FAR AS VIRGINIA AND FOUND OUR BIRDS THE BEST ALL ALONG THE LINE. NONE OTHERS ANYWHERE NEAR THEIR EQUAL FOR SIZE AND QUALITY. I have sold lots of squabs this summer. I average about 800 a month. Besides that I have worked up a little side trade in selling mated birds, but only the very large ones, such as I raise myself. Such orders bring me $3 a pair. I can’t raise them fast enough to supply my trade, but I guarantee to do what is right by them all. I can say the credit is yours for supplying me with the old birds, as you did, but I only wish I had sense enough to have held on to all I ever got from you. Mr. Rice, I claim to have raised the largest Homers that any man can raise. 1 visited a plant in Pennsylvania. While I was there I was also down to Philadelphia and Delaware as far as Virginia and I saw your fine birds all along as I went, but none others were anywhere near their equal as far as size and quality went. I will take the largest Homers you have to-day and breed them in my coops and raise the young ones myself, and the young birds will be larger than the old ones, but that is experience that does that.—L. Y., Connecticut. WHY WE HAVE MADE A SUCCESS. I CANADA CUSTOMER FINDS PROFIT- wish to thank you very much for the nice selection both in size and perfect marking. I readily see why it is you have made a success of Homer breeding. I have long since found a satisfied customer is by far the best advertis- ing medium in building a substantial business. I will give you my future orders. I hope to add frequently to my nice loft of birds. No off-color or inferior birds can exist in my pens. Wishing you success—W. B. T., Texas. ABLE OCCUPATION. About six months ago I purchased from you seven pairs of your Extra mated adult Plymouth Rock Homer pigeons. Have had very good success with them. Starting with seven pairs, J have now (June, 4, 1907) fifty-six hardy Homers. I also got a Manual from you and find it very helpful. On the whole, I think squab rais- ing is one of the most profitable industries pursued to-day. You can publish this letter if you wish.—J. M., B. C., Canada. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 204 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 - CONNECTICUT WOMAN’S BIRDS BREED BETTER THAN MANUAL STATES. SHE HAS SEEN ONLY ONE LOFT OF BIRDS AS GOOD AS HERS AND THAT MAN BOUGHT HIS STOCK OF US. I will give you a statement of the birds I received from you the 23d of April, 1907. My birds do very much better than you state in your Manual. They arrived in perfect condition and are very large and beautiful, have always been perfectly healthy. There has never been only one that was sick and that was caused from moulting and raising birds too fast. I took her away until she had recovered and her mate cared for the young birds. These birds lay when their young are from 12 to 21 days old. Some of them are sitting on their fifth lot of eggs. They have hatched 48 young birds in four months and just three weeks, and expect more will hatch this week. Some of the young ones are beautiful. I have never had young birds remain in their nests over three weeks. One pair build on the floor and their birds leave their nest at 17 days old. These weigh at three weeks 14 ounces, others at ten days weigh one-half pound each, some at three weeks weigh one pound. I have some that are very delicate from which I shall use for flying. These birds do not weigh but 14 ounces at four weeks old. I have seen but one loft of birds as large and handsome as these birds, and those were owned by a Mr. Cornwell of Milford. He bought his first birds of you and claims that they raise 11 pairs of birds a year. One of my neighbors who was watching my birds said: ‘‘ In all the birds I have ever seen these are the largest and most lovely.” I have followed your advice in the care of them and would like to know if mine are doing as well as the average youhear from. If I amsuccessful in flying the birds will let you know. Enclosed you will find money order for 50 pounds of health grit.—Miss A. A. W., Connecticut. CHAIR SEATS USED FOR THE BOTTOMS OF NEST-BOXES, CHEAPER THAN LUMBER. HOW TO CHOP UP STRAW FOR NESTING MATERIAL. I note you say use long boards for bottoms of nests and short pieces perpendicular. I reversed this before seeing your plans by standing up long boards 12 inches apart, toenailed to wall. These boards have three-quarter- _ inch by three-quarter-inch cleats for bottoms. I use 12-inch three-plv perforated seats. These seats are varnished, are light and strong, as your excellent bowls. They are slightly concave in center, just fitting the nestbowl, and the perforations do not extend beyond margin of bowl. I fasten bowls to them with stove bolts. I can remove nut in a moment and have bowl and base separate for cleaning, and they are cheaper than good lumber, which. costs five to six cents a square foot. Seats 12 inches square can be bought'for three cents each. They come 10, 11 and 12 inches square. You suggest no easy way for chopping straw in proper length for nests. I have stumbled onto a.cheap and easy plan for smal! fellows like me. Use a common mitrebox and saw. Place mitrebox on table near end anda receptacle beneath. One or two strokes will cut through a big handful of straws and as you move up for next cut, the short ends drop into receptacle. I hope you do not consider all this didactic (or what not) for to tell the truth I have gotten more pleasure and information out of your Manual than I could have gathered with endless and expensive experimenting, and I want to help if I can in any small way.—P. O. L., New Jersey. HIS BATH-PANS ARE MOUNTED ON A PIPE AND HE EMPTIES ALL WITH ONE TURN OF ACRANK. FILLS ALL BY TURNING ONE VALVE. My self-feeder is just perfect. Two of the ranches about here are fitting up with it. I also have all my windows raised or lowered at the same time and with only one motion. One or as many as you like can be detached and remain closed. I can stand in my feed room and do the whole thing without taking a step. My bath-pans are all mounted on a one-inch pipe running through the flying pen. The erank is just outside the end of the pen. It locks when the pans are up for bathing. The water is turned on by a faucet outside the flying pens. Now to empty this, no going inside the pens, frightening the birds and swashing the dirty water onto your hands. You just unlock the crank, rock the pans to and fro two or three times, turn down your crank and every pan dumps its dirty water onto a drip board running outside the pen. Leave your pans down and no snowy, ice, or droppings can get ioto them. ue drinking fountains all work from the passageway. Not a particle of filth can get into them. Now I have not written this in any spirit of egotism. I consider it just common sense economy of my own construction.—J. W., New Jersey. THIS FLORIDA CUSTOMER BEGAN WITH TWELVE PAIRS OF OUR EXTRAS IN 1903. We now (September, 1907), have about 400 to 500 birds and during winter and spring have killed on an average of 25 squabs per week. To be accurate in this I cannot, as no account was kept, but must say the birds have proven very satisfactory indeed. Will give Mrs. B. your letter upon her return and she can answer it also.—J. C. W., Florida. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 205 1907 SQUABS SHOULD NOT BE SOLD DRAWN. THE COOK IS THE ONE WHO DRAWS THEM. The six pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers have increased to about 60 since last May 20, breeding right on all the time, just the same now (January, 1907), as last summer, all large youngsters, which weigh with feet off, head off, entrails removed. just over half a pound. Please let me know whether commission men weigh them that way, or if they leave the feet and head on ?— P. A. W., Pennsylvania. Answer. Squab dealers always weigh them with the head and feet on and undrawn. Never draw your squabs before selling them. They will not keep so well in the markets, and the marketmen do not take them that way. The heads, feet and insides are removed by the cook. THE START. In this barn, the customer whose picture is printed on this page made his start. It is still in use but the greater part of his breeding is done in a long multiple unit house nearby. AFTER ONE YEAR'S SUCCESSFUL TRIAL HE BUILDS A HOUSE FOR THREE HUNDRED PAIRS. The pigeons I got of you a little over a year ago have been doing finely. Am now (April, 1907) building a house to accommodate three hundred pairs. Enclosed find check for $23.04 for which please send me two gross of the fibre nest- bowls. I will have a picture of my new house taken a little later on and send to you. I could not give you any definite figures as to what your birds have done for me, as I had some other birds in with them. How- ever, the ones got of you are the best and largest. One pair especially has raised a pair of squabs almost every month. I expect to put some of your birds to themselves as soon as my new house is ready, and may be able to give you figures on them later on.—H. B., Indiana. MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 GRAIN AND SUPPLIES TO THE GULF STATES BY STEAMSHIP. Please quote me price on 200 pounds of mixed feed but with- out chops. I cannot get wheat or hemp seed, and I find my birds do better on your mixed feed. The birds I ordered from you some time ago are doing finely. I am very much pleased with them.—B. E., Mississippi. Note. We ship a great deal of grain and other supplies to customers living in Gulf States by boat from New York to Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston and other ports, a quick and cheap route, much faster than rail, and more satisfactory. The shipments get less handling. THIS CUSTOMER Started with a dozen pairs of our birds and has run them up to 800 pairs, paying a handsome profit. This is spare time work for him, as he is regularly employed at his trade. WONDERFUL MATINGS. MORE SALES PROMISED. I received the 12 pairs of birds O. K. in fine shape April 11, 7 p.m., 1907. They are a nice-looking lot of breeders and all you claim them to be, as two of them laid eggs while in transit and two more laid to-day, April 13, so you see there is some- thing doing. The other six pairs are doing well. All laid but one pair, and I think they ate coming along ail right. JI assure you that such fair treatment means a continuation of sales wit: me and I shall recommend the Plymouth Rock Squab Co. to those who are buying breeders. Will return baskets to-day. ou can use this as a testimonial if you wish. —W. B. H., Massachusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 206 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 BEAUTIFUL PAIR OF SPLASHES. The second bird on the left and the last bird on the right are types of oddly-marked Plymouth Rock Homers FEEDS HIS BIRDS LOCUST LEAVES AND PEPPER GRASS. BOSTON DEALER ALWAYS GIVES HIM MORE THAN THE MARKET QUOTATIONS BECAUSE HIS SQUABS ARE WORTH MORE. Company, in February. 1906, the best stock I could buy. to January 1907, when I began to ship the squabs. and I receive from $3 to $4 per dozen for them. I purchased 12 pairs Extra Homers of the Plymouth Rock Squab Isaved all my squabs for breeders up They average 9 pounds to the dozen, I ship to the Boston market. I feed my birds on wheat, cracked corn and kaffir corn in equal parts, with peas and hemp- seed as dainties. I feed them in wooden traps, not finding any self-feeder which I like. A box containing grit, oyster snells and charcoal is kept before them all the time and the flying pen outside covered with coarse sand. I find pine needles to be the best nesting material, - the birds building a small, neat, compact nest with them. I sell the pigeon manure to parties in town at 50 cents per bushel. feet long by 14 wide, with a passageway three feet wide on one side. My flying pen is 36 feet wide, 18 feet long and ten by fountains placed in the passageway. feet high, divided into three parts. I find my birds to be very fond of locust leaves and pepper grass, eating it like grain. My squab house is 36 The birds are watered They like peas and hempseed so well that they will fly on to my hand for them. My birds are mostly blue checkers, with a few reds and silvers among them. ; I ship nearly every week to a large commission dealer in Faneuil Hall Market, who always gives me more than the market quotations. among them, and are raising big, fat squabs at the present time. Massachusetts. MOVING, GOING INTO THE BUSINESS ON A LARGER SCALE. Our Homers have done fine since we have had them. We have doubled. So far we have lost only one pair of squabs and we think the parents smothered them. .Then one of our young birds of our first pair got out and away and we think he was frozen or caught by a cat, for the night was a cold one. Now we are going to move and take a place where we can go into the business on a larger scale, so we will hope to send for more birds as soon as we get coops ready.—Miss H. L. A., New Jersey. PLYMOUTH ROCKS BEST IN MEMPHIS. I have lost only one bird from sickness I have had no trouble with lice at all. My birds keep very clean and are also very tame. I go to see ali the pigeons around Memphis but find none as fine looking as yours. Your Manual is a fine teacher, why it is worth a dollar. I hope to have success by following vour Manual as I have done so far—W. A., Tennessee. My birds are all in fine condition, no poor ones (June, 1907.)—E. B. K.., SQUABS TEN POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. GOING TO SHIP TO NEW YORK FROM IOWA. If you remember I bought some fine Homers of you a year ago last September. They were the Extras. They have done well. Must have now 150 birds, fine large ones at that. I can send squabs to New York from here for $1.50 per 50 pounds. That is what I want to do eventually. I weighed 12 squabs just as they came, one month old. They weighed a trifle over 10 pounds. One pair weighed two pounds exact.—J. C., Iowa. SUPERIOR HOMERS BREEDING EX- TREMELY LARGE SQUABS. Accept my thanks for your fair treatment with regard to my order of June. The birds are breeding extremely large squabs. Since then I have had given to me twelve pairs pedigreed Homers, but yours are superior in every way. Enclosed find P. O. money order, for which please send me six pairs Extra mated adult Homers and twelve wood-fibre nestbowls.— F. R. M., Massachusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 207 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 PLYMOUTH ROCK BLUE BARS AND BLUE CHECKERS. BOY IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY 13 YEARS OLD GOT RID OF HIS FLOCK OF COMMON BIRDS AS SOON AS HE SAW PLYMOUTH ROCKS AND WHAT THEY WOULD DO. The nappies ordered of you came on time. My pigeons put them to use as soon as they arrived. I bought six pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers in January, 1907. I now (July) have 32 large, full- breasted birds. Some of the young ones are going to work now. Iam 13 years old and was anxious to do something to make a little money while going to school, and saw an advertisement of your Homers and made up my mind to try them. Jam more than satisfied with my investment and within the next year I expect to have a very nice little income. In your Manual you show a diagram of a self-feeder, and I had one made which is very satisfactory, as it saves so much work and attention. I can get all the grain recommended by you except the buckwheat and hempseed, and I use red (instead of white) wheat, -and my birds are thriving and doing well. I hope to be able to dispose of all I can raise here in my home market, as they are so large and fine. In fact, there is all the difference in the world between my Homer squabs and the ordinary scrub squab, and it will pay any one wanting to go in the business to get the best to start on. I weighed some of my squabs this morning (just three weeks old) and they average one pound each, or two pounds to the pair. JI had a flock of common birds and the squabs were dark skinned and weighed about eight ounces, and when I read of your birds I at once sold out and ordered from you, and I certainly feel that I made a good trade. I expect to order six pairs more soon. Thank you for the promptness and care taken of my orders.— L. G., Indian Territory. THREE DOLLARS A DOZEN FOR PLY- MOUTH ROCK SQUABS IN ARKANSAS. Please send six more pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and one dozen nest- bowls. We are able to get $3 a dozen for our squabs at the hotels here—W. A. T., Arkansas. LARGEST EVER SEEN IN ONTARIO. The weather has been very cold here, 30 degrees below zero, so I have kept a coal oil stove going most of the time. Your birds have been greatly admired. They are the biggest that have ever been seen here.— G. S. B., Ontario. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 208 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1907 ON A RUNNING BOARD IN THE SUN. NESTBOWLS VERY PRACTICAL AND ARE A NECESSITY. BUSINESS SHEET OF A BEGINNER WITH SQUABS IN CANADA. On May 5, 1906, I received your lot of seven pairs Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, one pair out of the seven being free, as some nestbowls were bought previously, to allow for the express charges on them. I may say that these bowls are very practical, as none of my squabs have suffered from sprawled feet as is noticed when earthen- ware nappies are used. The breeders were put in the pigeon house the same night and it was not long before they became acquainted with theirnew home. Full instructions were sent before the pigeons reached here and as these were clear it was very easy to follow them. Sixteen days after their arrival there were two eggs in a nest. This was an event, as many friends were interested. They were much surprised to see these three-week-old squabs weighing 14 ounces and even more than 16 ounces at four weeks. Their common pigeons were looking very small against my Plymouth Rock Homers which were looking so fine. It was really funny to hear them taking notice of the wonderful difference. Mine were looking so fine with their large breasts, their bright-looking eyes, their wings which look to be detached from them. The opinion of my friends was that. they were the finest birds they ever saw. At the end of the first month there were four squabs and six eggs, at the end of October 12 ' pairs of eggs had been !aid and hatched, making a total of 22 pairs of squabs at the end of six months. All the squabs of the first August were eaten at a family dinner and proclaimed the finest squabs that were ever served on such an occasion. Since that time we disposed of the squabs for breeding purposes and for eating. Last winter I had 15 pairs of squabs laid but as the winter was very cold some of the squabs died because the parents were not acclimated, . but Iam sure that this winter will not be so fatal as they will be acclimated. Since April, 1907, I have had 29 pairs of eggs, of which 26 pairs of squabs have been eaten. In consequence, pigeon keeping in Quebec has proved to be a success, a paying business, when proper birds are used—that is, the Plymouth Rock Squab Company Homers. Business Sheet of an Amateur Squab Breeder. May 5, 1906 to September 1, 1907. - Total of eggs !aid, 66 pairs. Total of pounds of grains, 638, at a cost of $11.47. . Rations of Grains for Feeding Purposes. Wunter Summer Peas ... 30 lbs. 30 lbs. Red Wheat. Ge eer ecep ee iene rs eh Spee. ae net eel apes, y tenet enn RIED pS 25 lbs. Buckwheat .... MRE ee eR eran er ae aie | elton OSe 15 lbs. Cracked corn (not sifted) .. AO lbs. 30 lbs. During September and. Ostatae I ‘eal 30 Rounds. ea wheat and 40 pounds peas. The pigeons are sold in Montreal for: 50—70 cents per pair in winter, 45—55 cents per pair in autumn, 30—40 cents per pair in spring, 25—35 cents per pair in summer. Average price, 40 cents per pair —G. G.. Canada. KNOW WHERE TO BUY WHEN THEY WANT THE PIGEONS WHICH ARE THE VERY BEST IN EVERY RESPECT. In February, 1906, I bought pigeons from you BEAUTIES, EXCELLENT LAYERS, VERY HEALTHY. In September, 1904, I purchased from you 12 pairs of birds. We have in- creased our flock to over 100 pairs so at from which I am raising the finest flock of pigeons that I ever saw. I amsending to you herewith with hopes of getting more from you that are equally as good if not better than the ones I got last year. The enclosed order is partly for myself and partly for Mr. Ritter, who has been corresponding with you recently. We want pigeons that are the very best in every respect.—W. A. G., Ohio. present (October, 1907) I am obliged to sell some of our young birds for the need of making room for others. They are beauties and give good satisfaction. They are excellent layers, hatching fine, large squabs weighing, from eight to 12 ounces and are very healthy. Perhaps next year I shall be situated so I can order about 50 pairs of your first-class breeders.—E. E. H., New Jersey: LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 209 MORE 1907 STORIES OF SUCCESS INTERIOR OF MASSACHUSETTS CUSTOMER’S HOUSE. Wire netting is used always to separate the units, not board partitions. This breeder has not set nest boxes up against the wire netting, but this is done in almost every case. NEVER HAD A SICK BIRD AMONG OURS, BUT BIRDS FROM ANOTHER SOURCE ARE WEAK AND POOR BREEDERS, HANDLED UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS. You will probably remember me as having bought two dozen pairs of Plymouth Rock pigeons from you last November. one got away and one cock bird I killed. what they would do, so I bought two dozen pairs from Out of the 25 pairs you sent me, I have 20 pairs working. I thought I would try some one else’s birds to see Onc bird died, I built a new house exactly the same as I put your birds in, and have given them the same treatment, but they are not doing as well as your birds. They do not seem strong and vigorous like your birds. I would like you to send me 24 pairs of your very best Extra Plymouth Rock Homers. I am not particular as to color so long as the quality is there. I have kept the birds I got from the other man in a pen by themselves as I want to give them a fair chance. young as they should do. : they do not seem as vigorous as your birds. They may be young birds, as they do not seem to care for their eggs and I give them exactly the same treatment as I give the others, but I have never had a sick bird among yours, since I got them, only the one that died soon after I received them.—J. W., West Virginia. NEWS OF OUR SUCCESS CARRIED TO INDIA. Having heard something of your wonderful success in this business from a gentleman from America, I should very much like to hear full particulars. I have some young nephews in California whom 1 should like to help make a start in some way. M. C. H., Bombay, India. LOST ONLY TWO YOUNG SQUABS. Will you be so kind as to tell me where I can get a good cut of a pair of Homer pigeons? My birds which I bought of you are doing well. I have not lost any but two young squabs before they were grown. They are certainly nice.—L,. L. D., Georgia. GOOD MATINGS. FOUR NESTS SIX DAYS AFTER REACHING KENTUCKY. Homers received in splendid condition on March 8. They are surely a beautifu: lot of birds. Am very much pleased with them and hope to duplicate order in a short time. They have bui!t four nests already. (March 14.) —]. P. Y., Kentucky. ONE HUNDRED SQUABS A MONTH WEIGHING ELEVEN TO FOURTEEN OUNCES. I have nothing but your Extra stock exclusively and am now turning out 100 or more fine squabs weighing 11 to 14 ounces and over every four weeks.—E. M., South Carolina. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 SIX SQUABS WEIGHEP A LITTLE OVER FOUR AND ONE HALF POUNDS. I am sending you by mail a photo of one of my pigeon houses. 1 cannot have both houses taken in the same picture because they are too far apart. This picture was taken when I had only 25 pairs of birds in it. I now have 45 pairs in it, all your birds, and they are doing fine. The birds are not quite through the moult yet but they have been breeding right along. I killed six squabs to-day and they weighed a little over four and one-half pounds after they were picked; so that’s not so bad, considering that they are moulting. Please let me know if you can let me have two pairs of good Carneaux, something you can recommend, as I would like to get good ones.—W. I. L., West Virginia. WOMEN ENJOY SQUAB RAISING. HE HAS THE LARGEST HOMERS IN HIS PENNSYLVANIA TOWN. I think it is time to !et you know about my birds which I got from you in April, 1906. Well, they are doing all right. You know J got three pairs. Now (May, 1907) I have 36. About 16 young ones died last winter on account of the vety cold weather we had. I must thank you very much for the birds which you sold me. We have quite a lot of people that have Homer pigeons around here, but I have the largest of them all, so I am well satisfied and shall always recommend your squab farm and your Homers.—H. D. K., Pennsylvania. EXTRA POCKET MONEY. I thought I would write and tell you how my birds are getting about. I have raised squabs enough to pay for their expenses and extra pocket money.—]J. D., Massachusetts. EXTRA PLYMOUTH ROCKS SUPERIOR TO ANY RUNT CROSSES AT MUCH LESS COST. I have been interested in your advertisements for some time, and if you will favor me with any suggestions regarding my own birds, I will be grateful. About two years ago, I got some Runt-Homer crosses of the best strain, thinking taem best for heavy squabs. They are as prolific as can be, but the squabs weigh only 14 or 15 ounces at four weeks old. The surroundings, feeding, etc., are all right, as I am only keeping a few pairs for pleasure of it. Would like to be put aright.—P. R., California. Answer. The strain of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers we have developed are superior in weight of squabs and rate of breeding to any Runt cross, at one-fourth the cost of Runts. The only birds superior to our Extra Homers are our Carneaux. These breed squabs weighing 12 pounds and more to the dozen, and breed faster than Homers. NO LET-UP IN BREEDING IN STATE OF WASHINGTON. FINE, FAT SQUABS. Since last August I have been a very sick man; in fact, came very close to the divide, but have not crossed over yet. (April, 1907.) About my pigeons, I have not noticed any let up about their breeding since they com- menced last May. I have about 150 all told now, fine big fellows. I have fed them red wheat, kaffir corn, hemp seed and the small yellow seed you recommended, have forgotten its name, with grit, clam shell from the beach, salt and charcoal once in a while, fountain of water in the house and running water in the yard. The birds do not like strangers. They are not afraid of me. 1 have some fine fat squabs. You can im- prove on your hopper feeder by nailing a lath on the inch piece to which the feeding holes are nailed. Let it stand up one-half to three-quarters inches above the one-inch piece. It does not allow them to pull out the grain so fast. I send you a picture of the house and yard with a few of the pigeons on roosts.—G. H., State of Washington. TWELVE PAIRS OUT OF THIRTEEN PAIRS AT WORK IN TWELVE DAYS AFTER RECEIPT. I thought it might be of interest to you to know how my little flock of birds are getting along. It has been just twelve days since they arrived and I now have twelve pairs out of the baker’s dozen at work. It strikes me that there is ‘‘ something doing.” I have a nice, roomy home for thei and do everything that I can to make them happy, and enjoy the care of them very much. I feel now as though I will succeed and if I do I will build me a unit plant next spring and will stock it with your Homers. I go East about once a year as faras New York, and the next time I go, I will go over to Boston and visit your plant.—B. A., Georgia. —$—$—$—$—$—$—$—$_$_$—$_—_ —_—_—————VW—3—V—<—V—X—X—_e_—v_—_—_—_———————— LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY . 211 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 AT THE BACK OF A BARN. Showing how a New York customer made a handsome home for his birds without doing any eile (This flying pen is shown in detail on next illustrated page.) te THAT THE WORK IS NOT BEYOND THE PERSON OF AVERAGE ABILITY IS PROVED BY THE SUCCESS OF THIS 15-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO HAD NO PREVIOUS. EXPERIENCE AND NO GUIDE BUT THE MANUAL. Please send me prices on pigeon supplies, also. prices on breeding stock, as I have mislaid those that I received from you about a year ago when I purchased pigeons of you. Iam only a boy of 15 and must wait until I can earn enough from the ones I have. My Extra Plymouth Rock Homers have done very well. My brother bought six pairs of you and he sold them to me immediately after they began work before winter was half way begun. One pair died, so that left me only five pairs of breeders. I was se interested in these that I forgot about the pair that died. They worked fine until cold weather set in, having averaged a pair of squabs from each pair every seven weeks, but during the cold weather we raised less. Our loft being upstairs, in an old granary, was pretty cold. This spring (1907) they began work in earnest again, laying their eggs again before the squabs were two weeks old. One young pair only four months old raised a pair of squabs weighing one and one-half pounds. I have now about seventy-five (75) birds old and young and lots of eggs. We got 50 cents a pair for the squabs we sold, but I did not wish to sell many because I am to raise them for breeders. It certainly pays to buy the Extras, for everybody who sees them says they are splendid, but I believe your Manual is just as necessary tu make it a paying business. I do not see how I could raise them eres it. Perhaps I will want some more breeders if I get the building ready this summer.—G. L. G., Wisconsin. ONE SALE LED TO ANOTHER. No OUTGROWN THE COOP. Please send me doubt you are acquainted with Carlton five dozen nestbowls and one drinking Daniel, who is a first cousin of mine. His fountain by express. My coop has got too pigeons looked so fine that they encouraged small to hold the birds. The dozen pairs me to buy of you. I don’t think mine can be you sent me have increased to 125 birds — beaten.—F. W., Indiana. F. C. W., Massachusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 212 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 SHIPSHAPE FLYING PEN. This is the flying pen of the place illustrated on preceding page. By the use of inch boards the owner has finished ’ off the timbers so that the effect is permanent and beautiful. : THIS NEW JERSEY BREEDER RECEIVES $4.50 A DOZEN FOR HIS SQUABS AND THE DEMAND IS SO GREAT THAT HE CANNOT FILL HIS ORDERS, SO BUYS MORE BIRDS. In sending my second order (January, 1907) for your Extra mated birds, I would like to put in a few words in regard to the birds I received from you in 1904. My birds have done finely. I sent to Boston $30 for 12 pairs. The birds arrived in the finest shape that was ever seen in this part of New Jersey. I reccived the birds in May, 1904, and had eight pairs cf squabs in July. I then went to work and kept all the squabs for a short time until they got six to seven months old, then I went to mating them the way you show in vour Manual. JI now in January, 1907, have 200 birds which is only one-fourth of the birds I raised, but the demand for squabs was so great that I could not get the chance to save any for breeding. That is the reason why I send an order for 50 pairs of your best birds. My house is 12 feet wide and 26 feet long with a hall three feet wide, one window on the north side and three windows on the south side, with 200 nests. My first house was 12 feet by 12 feet, but I found out that when handling Plymouth Rock Homers it does not take long for them to make money for a larger house, and to get a start in a business of our own. I would like to tell you that I put one advertisement in a paper of our town some time ago, not to sell my squabs for I had more orders than I could fill, but to let my friends know that I meant that there was money in handling your birds. The advertisement brought me so many orders that I didn’t know what to do. The demand for squabs is so great that I get $4.50 per dozen. My squabs average nine to 12 pounds to the dozen. I am going to build house No. 3 this spring and then I will need more of your fine birds. I would like to tell you a few words in regard to the Manual. It is the finest I have ever read for the reason you show how to run a successful squab business. I use the self-feeder which you show in your Manual. I always find the feed clean and dry, which is the main part of the feeding part. I feed cracked corn, red wheat, Canada peas and hempseed. The feed bill will not exceed 85 cents a year per breeding pair. I can figure on nine pairs of squabs per year at 75 cents per pair, which leaves me a net profit of $5.20 per year for each pair of breeders. I am perfectly satisfied with the results obtained from your birds and wish you continued success.—A. N., New Jersey. VALUES HIS BIRDS AT FIVE DOLLARS USUAL STORY FROM IOWA. The birds A PAIR. I would not sell my birds for five received from you last winter are doing dollars a pair now.—C. E., New Jersey. finely.—E. R. W., Iowa. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 213 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 BIRDS FED ONLY CRACKED BARLEY. KNOWS WHERE TO GET MORE BIRDS. I have some fine birds and am stuck on that last basketful you sent—tnose nice dark checkers, and some of the nicest sky blue I ever saw. I have some young birds from the last ones you sent me that will mate in two or three weeks, so you can see they did not lose much time after shedding feathers. There was a man at my place, whose name I forget. He said his birds were from your place and that my birds were livelier than his. I told him if he would follow your book he would be all right. I told him he was feeding too much, or he was not giving them the right feed, and he said he was feeding cracked barley so he cannot expect much from his birds. I went to the market to find out what they are paying for birds. They are paying 25 cents apiece for old common birds and he said that they pay more for Homer squabs. My birds are getting along finely. I am goinz to get 60 cents a bushel! for manure with straw in it, which I think is a good price. If I want any more birds I know where to get them and that is from your place.—J. C., Wisconsin. READY SALE IN LOUISIANA FOR ALL SQUABS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED. PRICES ARE GOOD, RANGING FROM $2.50 TO $4.00 A DOZEN. I received your National Standard Squab Book on the evening of the 5th inst. and have studied same over carefully several times and will say that I am perfectly satisfied with it and consider your Manual one of much value and indis- pensable to one who intends to raise squabs. I expect to order from you in half dozen and dozen lots, until I get me a good flock of breeders. (This I will have to do on account of my limited means and again I am not at my home. I am employed by the railroad company as foreman and my house is 25 miles from my work. However, I am con- fident that I will be in a position to quit railroading in 12 months from now if I have good luck with birds.) I have an ideal place for a squab plant containing 12 acres of good land and nice dwelling and out buildings. I have also investigated the marketing of squabs in this territory and find that I can get ready sale for all that I can produce at from $2.50 to $4.50 per dozen, according to weight and plumpness.—T. H., Louisiana. THIS ILLINOIS YOUNG WOMAN HAS GIVEN US HALF A DOZEN ORDERS FOR BIRDS BETWEEN 1903 AND 1908. Please find enclosed two post-office money orders for $125 and send me 50 pairs Extra Plymouth Rocks. My mother’s sickness interfered with my plans. I have lost many orders by not having enough breeders. I think it safe to try now.—Miss J. M., Tlinois. HAS KEPT PIGEONS FOR YEARS. PLYMOUTH ROCKS DO BETTER THAN ANY HE EVER BRED. I had 35 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rock Homers to start with. They are fine birds and very good breeders. I have kept pigeons for years, but yours do as well and in some respects better than any I ever had. I intended to breed them for squabs, but there is such a call for good breeders that I have not had any chance to sell squabs.—A. T. K., Massa- chusetts. FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY EARNING POCKET MONEY FOR TWO YEARS. About two years ago I bought three pairs of your best Homer breeders and they are getting along very nicely. I am only 15 years old. JI am running my business the way described in your National Standard Squab Book. Have you a 1907 copy of this book?—J. A. M., Wisconsin. NEST OF STRAW AND FEATHERS. Some birds build a scanty nest, using only a few wisps of straw, with perhaps a feather or two. | nestbowl is an absolute necessity for such pairs, otherwise the eggs soon roll apart or out of the nest box. In April, 1907, a Missouri woman wrote us as follows: “Enclosed find draft for $11.52, for which please send me one gross of nestbowls. One year ago I started with 40 pairs of Homers. Now I have something over 400 birds. I have lost a great number of eggs, and feel like I must have the nestbowls, as they pre- vent the eggs from rolling out. Send them at once.” GETTING RID OF COMMON PIGEONS AND PURCHASING PLYMOUTH ROCKS. THE MOST WEIGHTY BIRDS HE EVER SAW. I have a number of common birds which I am either going to sell, or kill them for my own use, but I will exert every effort to sell them and purchase more birds of you, as I think yours are the most weighty birds I ever saw. As soon as I am rid of what common birds I have on hand now, you may expect my order for some more of your breeders. —T. W., New York. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 214 1907 QUICK WORK BY THE NEW FLOCK OF A. NINE-YEAR-OLD BOY. I should _per- haps have written you earlier of my boy’s success with the Plymouth Rock Homers which you sent. One pair were nesting in three days and inside of three weeks there are, I think, ten of the thirteen pairs at work, and if my recollection serves me, inside of four weeks he had ten or a dozen squabs hatched. ; It is now nearly five weeks since he had them and some of the scuabs are nearly large enough to market. I consider this a pretty good record.—H. C., New York. Note. The above gentleman known business New Yorker. only nine years old. is a well- His boy is DIFFERENT SIZES. This shows two squabs, one of which is growing faster than the other. This means that it is pushing its smaller mate out of the way at feeding time and getting more feed from the parents. In such cases, the bigger one will grow fast and the smaller one will be stunted. The latter should be helped by being taken out of the nest and put alongside a squab of its own size in another nest, the larger squab there being brought back to grow up with a mate of its own size. The parents in both cases do not neglect the new comer. MARYLAND CUSTOMER SATISFIED AND ENLARGING. On November 27, 1906, I received from you 50 pairs of Plymouth Rock pigeons. I put them into what I considered an up-to-date house, using nappies for nests. I am starting another pen and expect before fall to have 150 pairs of good stock. I feed cracked corn and wheat and I also give the Canada peas when I can get them, a little hemp and rice once in awhile. I am entirely satisfied and when I am in the market for more birds, Elmer Rice’s birds will do for me. Thank you for your many kindnesses.—W. B. C., Maryland. MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 UICK BEGINNING BY MATED PAIRS. ALL AT WORK WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY AND A PAIR OF SQUABS ON HIS TABLE WITHIN SEVEN WEEKS. MORE ORDERS FOLLOW. Within seven weeks from the date of receipt of the birds I ordered from you, I have had a pair of broiled squabs on my table, and such squabs I never saw before. A few days before they were four weeks old, they weighed a pound each. Some of my pairs went to work within five days and all of them within two weeks after their receipt. Jt has been less than three months since I received the seven pairs, and I have killed two pairs squabs. and my flock has more than doubled. I think this is a good record. I can readily sell my young pigeons here for breeding purposes at good prices, but as I ordered them to raise squabs for my own table, have, so far, declined to sell any. Two of my neighbors have duplicated my order since they have seen mine, and I am sure other orders will follow. I am delighted with the business and take a great interest in my birds, which have learned my voice, and when I go out to the fly, come fluttering at’ my call. I prefer squabs to chickens, and they are much less trouble, and so much easier to raise.—J. M., Mississippi. BEST THESIS HE EVER READ ON ANY SUBJECT. I have the pleasure of acknowl- edging receipt of your National Standard Squab Book and having read it once through and made notations of details (not indexed) at the sides of the pages, I can get the meat of any subject promptly. I want to say (which, of course, must have been said a great many times to you) that “it is bully,”’ it is the best thesis I ever read on any subject. I have tried to think of questions that sug- gested themselves to me I would like an- swered, but in vain. You have answered everything. I want to state to any one interested in squabs, surely your Manual is worth its weight in gold.—W. C., Wisconsin. NEVER WAS TREATED MORE FAIRLY. My birds arrived October 1 in first-class condition, earlier than I expected. Never spent money for anything better. They are regular beauties. I thank you for the extra pair; I never was treated more fairly. Hope to give you a larger order next time.—P. M., New Orleans. MAN OF FORTY YEARS’ EXPERIENCE HAS NEVER SEEN BETTER HOMERS THAN OURS. The birds came safe last night. I told you before, I had some of that sort (a few pairs) continuously, for over forty years. I never had any better and many inferior in fancy points. Accept my thanks.— L. O., New York. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 215 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 MATED PAIRS START QUICKLY. BEST BREEDERS IN A LIFE-TIME OF EXPERI- ENCE. SUGGESTION FOR CITY PEOPLE. SURE WAY OF MATING. I have received yours of the 1&th and am following out your request. About the color, either a blue or a red checker cock will do. I should like to know how I am to get him. I started in just one month ago with my shipment of 12 birds and about five days later, in which time they had to pick up from the fatigue of the journey, a pair of blues were sitting on eggs. This was kept up at intervals by the others until now when J have ten young ones and two eggs, which are being hatched by a pair of flights. Barring one sick one I can honestly call this a good investment because I have had pigeons since I was ten years old and in that time I have not seen any better done. Should they keep this up, I find the market good, I shall buy some more this spring. You said the Eagle arid Sum had quotations on squabs, but unless it is somewhere else than on the market page, neither of these papers has them. They want a dollar a pair for them in butcher shops. The Manual is all right, but if you want suggestions I should say that the way you describe for having pigeons in the city is very seldom used. The most popular way is putting a coop and screen on a flat roof or on poles in the yard. This is the way you will see most coops in Brooklyn and New York. However, the way you describe is a very good advice for those with peaked roofs, as I know many people would have pigeons if their roofs weren’t peaked. On mating birds I should also tell of a very effectual way I have for mating stubborn pigeons who absolutely refuse to mate. This is to put them in a box or something so that they cannot get any light and leave them so until you think they ought to be taken out and then put them together and in most cases they will be so glad to get back to light and see another pigeon that they will mate right away. Should they still refuse repeat the method until they do, but this method has worked so that I have yet to come across the ooge could not mate this way.—H. H.. New ork. FIRST SQUABS WHEN TWO WEEKS OLD WEIGHED TWELVE AND FOURTEEN OUNCES. Perhaps you will be interested to know that the first pair of squabs at two weeks weigh 12 and 14 ounces respectively. Am pleased with the weight—A. T. V., New Hampshire. ONE YEAR OF PROGRESS. Enclosed find money order for which please send me six dozen wood-fibre nestbowls by freight. The Homers I got from you about a year ago are working splendidly.—E. A., Pennsylvania. MONEY-MAKING STORY BRIEFLY TOLD. BIG FLOCK RAISED FROM SMALL PURCHASE. PROLIFIC BREEDERS. If you remember, I bought from you in the autumn of 1906 12 pairs of squab breeders. One pair went to work the second day after arrival, the others following in close order. In two weeks every pair but one had eggs. I now have (October, 1907) 576 pigeons, two pairs having raised 11 pairs per year, the others nine and ten. I feed cracked corn, whole wheat, hemp seed, barley, kaffir corn and rice. During the moulting season I feed a good quantity of hemp seed. I think . the squab business is a very good money making enterprise if well attended to— R. F.S., New York. AN INEXPENSIVE START. TWO YEARS’ SUCCESS. GOING TO SHIP TO BIGGER MARKET. I am now raising more squabs than our local market demands at reasonable price and in order to obtain good prices must find market elsewhere. Can you put me in the way of same? I bought my first Homers of you in August, 1905, and have had remarkable success with pigeons, having lost but 15 that were able to fly, in all the time since then. I will feel very grateful for any information you may be able to give me. Also kindly quote me price on 50 pairs Plymouth Rock Homers, as I think of adding another loft — C. H., Wisconsin. ALL PAIRS AT WORK QUICKLY. PLY- MOUTH ROCKS RECOMMENDED ABOVE ALL IN DELAWARE. My Homers arrived safe and I am certainly pleased with them. They are all mated and I expect eggs soon. I recommend your birds above all. I told several parties about my birds and I think they will give youan order.—R. W., Delaware. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 216 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 - LAYING AND HATCHING WITH TEM- PERATURE FIFTEEN DEGREES BELOW ZERO. My first pair laid and hatched out squabs which grew the fastest of anything I ever saw. When the eggs were laid and the birds were hatched it was 15 degrees below zero half of the nights (February, 1907) and the water in the fountain in the squab-house froze hard every night. My first young birds are about as large as the old birds (April) and are flying just as easily, I think, as the old birds.—M. S. B., New York. Note. The old pigeons protect both the eggs and the squabs more closely in cold weather. They adapt their attention to the climate., Do not fear that you cannot raise winter squabs, even if you live in the coldest parts of Canada. NOT ONE SICK. NO LICE. My pigeons are getting along very nicely. You sent me 13 pairs last December and now (July, 1907) I have about 30 pairs. Not a one has been the least sick, and have not been troubled with mites nor lice among them as yet. Will soon have to double the size of my house. I attend to them myself—M. V. B., South Carolina. A ROW OF BEAUTIES. SELLING IN ST. LOUIS FOR $4.50 A DOZEN. You will find enclosed herewith an order with remittance for 55 pairs of your Extra Homer pigeons, which I hope to receive as soon as possible. You will find also that I send order for yarious other supplies which, if you think it will be cheaper, you will please send by freight. The pigeons I purchased of you last year are doing nicely and have produced some fine, large squabs. They are selling in St. Louis for $4.50 per dozen. Thank you for fair dealing in the past and wish you success in the future.—R. C. H., Missouri. THREE ORDERS FROM ONE TOWN. Enclosed herewith I send you check for which please send me seven pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers. I ordered seven pairs from you a short time ago, and also had Mr McRaven duplicate my order—J. B., Mississippi. GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN. Please send e your printed matter as soon as you can. TP hedl some of your Homers a year ago and they did very well. I expect to buy some more.—J. J. R., District of Columbia. CHICAGO MAN REPLACING HIS FIRST BIRDS WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS AND BUILDING A LARGE PLANT. Your letter of October 28 at hand. Please send me the female as soon as possible as I can mate her with the other male. I still have the birds in the crate but will empty it Saturday. I am building now to accommodate 500 pairs of birds and have torn down my old coop so I have not had place to keep my birds. I am building it in units of 50 pairs to each unit. Am getting rid of my common birds as fast as possible. From March first to the present time (October) I have 38 youngsters from my original six pairs, three pairs of which were No. 1 and three pairs Extra. Both birds bred alike, with the exception of the Extras breeding a much larger squab. Eleven pairs of youngsters have eggs at present. I have lost none and with the exception of the moulting season, I think I have done fairly well. I have not sold any as yet, but have been asked to. Not wishing to sell any until I have 50 pair, I had to refuse the order, but referred him to you. People who have seen my Homers think well of them and I believe I have a few interested.—A. S. C., Chicago. TRIED TO GET ALONG WITHOUT THE INSTRUCTION BOOK AT FIRST. I have bought two sets of Extra Homers of you, but have had bad luck. I do not have any now. I am going to read up on the care of pigeons betore going into it again. I have vour National Standard Squeab Beok of 1905 and think that it is very well written and it con- tains some very sound advice, which if I had followed I never would have failed. Is the 1907 edition different ?>—T.H. O.. Jowa. EVERY PAIR BREEDING SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVAL IN FAR WEST. I received seven pairs of Plymouth Rock Homers the first part of April and now (May 20) have five pairs of squabs a week old and the other two pairs are setting. I am well pleased. Strong, healthy birds. It is a wonder the way the young sauabs grow.—R. R., State of Washington. LITTLE LOT GAVE HIM CONFIDENCE TO BUILD AND ORDER MORE BIRDS. The three pairs of pigeons I received from you in January are doing finely (April, 1907), and I would like to have you send me one of your plans for building, and as soon as I have the plans I will send to you for some more Digeons.—R. S., Chicago. EXACTLY AS REPRESENTED. The breeders I got from you are first-class and exactly as you said they would be, and are well. Please send me prices on grit and other supplies, also on 12 pairs breeders ——W. J. W Pennsylvania. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 217 1907 TWO CUSTOMERS WHICH HAVE BRED LARGE FLOCKS FROM SMALL BEGIN- NINGS. Mr. Bartholemew of this place has about 250 birds which he has bred from six pairs of Ne. 1 Plymouth Rock Homers which he says he got of you. I notice tne ditference between the Extra and No. 1 Homers. Mrs. Virkler has about 150 birds of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers bred from six pairs.—C. W. B., New York. EATING FROM HIS HAND. The California man who owns these pigeons writes: “They are beauties and breed fine squabs. I have bred squabs from your Homers weighing a pound apiece. Your Manual is straight and true.” RECOMMENDED VERY HIGHLY BY A LOUISIANA FRIEND. Enclosed you will find a money order for which you will please send me by express six pairs Plymouth Rock Homers No. 1 mated. I trust you wil! make me a good selection, as I am expecting to raise pigeons and wish the best. You have been recommended very highly to me by Mr. Joseph Malbrough, as he has ordered the Plymouth Rocks from you.—H. H., Louisiana. MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 SQUABS WEIGHING FROM SIXTEEN OUNCES TO NINETEEN OUNCES EACH. OUR STOCK AND OUR SELF-FEEDER GET THIS RESULT IN TEXAS. I bought six pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers from you last November, and I now (May, 1907) have 31 in all, and 17 youngsters. Four pairs have eggs. Out of the 17 squabs, I lost only one, the death of that being caused. by one of the parent birds stepping on one the day he was hatched. My squabs have weighed one pound to a pound and three ounces. I have built a pen for my young squabs as you advise to do, and I find that they do very much better, The things that I find most necessary are, to have a clean house, water and feed, so 1 clean my squab house every two weeks, and have clean water and feed always. I use your self-feeder so the pigeons can feed their young whenever they choose. The ground of my flypens is covered with sand, and I renew it every month. I also use oyster grit and rock. It is placed in the squab-house, where they can get it any time they want it. I feed wheat and kaffir corn and a little cracked corn now and then, but they do not need much corn as the weather here in Texas is warm nearly all the year around. I think your Homers are the best I ever saw, and every one that sees them says the same thing about them. Any one starting into squab raising should buy your Manual. I have been trying to follow it as nearly as possible and by doing so I think I will succeed in raising squabs. I intend to order more pigeons of you at once.—F. S., Texas. SUCCESSFUL BREEDING BY THE SISTERS OF A CHICAGO CATHOLIC HOSPITAL. Please send us 36 pairs (Janu- uary, 1907) the same as you did the four pairs a short while ago. Kindly send the very best breed only.—Sister M. M., Illinois. Note. In September, 1907, we shipped 36 pairs more Extra Plymouth Rock Homers to the above customer, who is the sister superior of a well-known hospital in Chicago. NEW JERSEY FRIENDS SATISFIED. Enclosed please find check to cover order for 24 pairs Extra Plymouth Rock Homers and supply of feed. We know your dealings have been square with friends of ours in New Jersey. We have plenty of ground here and everything going right. Will soon have the other houses finished up.—G. M., Massa- chusetts. INCREASED FIVE-FOLD IN SIX MONTHS. Regarding the ten pairs of birds I bought from you last spring, I now (Novem- ber, 1907), have 52 pairs.—C. V., Ontario. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 218 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 WISCONSIN HOTEL PAYING $3.50. SQUABS WEIGHING TEN AND THREE- FOURTHS POUNDS TO THE DOZEN. I thought I would write you a few lines. I want to buy some more birds from you, seeing I am getting along so nicely with the others you sent me. I am getting $3.50 a dozen at the Plankaton House. Thev weigh ten and turee-fourths pounds to the dozen. ‘Te said they were some of the best squabs he had ever seen. He wants me to come down some night to have a little talk with me. I want to get a basket of birds from you in about a week and about three dozen of nest bowls and a couple of weeks later, some more birds, if everything goes all right. I have some fine young birds, some of them weighing a pound apiece. I find out that you are a nice man to deal with and that everything you say is all right and that the birds cannot be praised too much. Guess I will close, hoping everything is going good. —S. H., Wisconsin. STEADY GROWTH IN THREE YEARS. - ORDERS FOR SQUABS OUTRUN BIRDS, SO MORE ARE BOUGHT. I am going to send soon, before February (1907), probably in a week, for 50 pairs of Plymouth Rock Homer squab breeders, and want to engage them at once, before the February trade begins. I bought of you six pairs three years ago, since then 12 pairs, 18 pairs and 12 pairs - again. (Four orders.) ~ I do not yet have enough for the orders. The birds are doing better constantly. Their houses are better, and I know more how to care for them, and what things are important. Have almost finished a house—all but nests and a littie finishing of yard. It seems as if it would be a good plan to get birds now before the really cold weather comes. I want the Extras, best you have.—M. L., Illinois. LIVELY WORK IN MISSOURI AND THE LARGEST SQUABS EVER SEEN. I am in receipt of my six pairs Extra pigeons and am very thankful to you for the care you have taken in sending these to me. I had them just one week when two pairs had eggs, and I was so surprised, but yesterday I was still more surprised when I went into the pigeon house and found four pairs setting, and two of these had young squabs. Every one of my neighbors is surprised to see the nice Pigeons you sent me. Mr E. C. Rice, I will in every respect recommend your goods very highly and I am sure that you will aopnecieive it. These squabs are the largest that I have ever seen. I will have one of my friends take a snap shot of my pigeon house and send you a picture——E. B., Missouri. MORE ORDERS FOR SQUABS THAN HE CAN FILL. HOW TO FEED SUN- FLOWER SEEDS. I am thinking about planting a batch of sunflower seeds. Will you please let me know if this is a good feed for them, and how to feed it—either fresh from the stalk or pick it and let it dry. It would be a great saving to feed this during the winter for me. The pigeons bought from you are O.K., doing their duty. I have more orders for my squabs than I can fill and getting 35 to 40 cents apiece. I do not do any plucking. My pigeons are doing fine considering being locked in all the time.— W.S., New York. Note. Sunflower seeds are good for pigeons, being used largely as a substitute for hemp- seed. Cut off the heads when grown and dry them. When you wish to feed a head. throw it into the pen whole and the pigeons will pick out the seeds. READY TO KILL These squabs are four weeks old. Sce how plump and broad-breasted they are. FLORIDA FRIENDS ENTHUSIASTIC OVER PLYMOUTH ROCKS. I have a friend who is very enthusiastic over my pigeons. He will send you an order the first of the coming week for 48 pairs of your Extra Plymouth Rocks such as mine Do your best for him. Of course he expects to get two extra pairs thrown in as a premium. My birds are getting along very nicely.—W. J. D., Florida. HAS HEARD FROM HIS FRIENDS. I have heard from several of my friends about your birds, stating they were very fine. I want to get some of your stock.—S. W. H., Kentucky. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 219 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 WOULD NOT TRADE HIS PLYMOUTH ROCKS FOR ANY IN HIS MONTANA TOWN. I have had fair luck and in all the Homers in town from different companies, I would not trade the ones I got from you for any of them. Friday noon, April 12, by carelessness, some boy friends in going from the coop let one of my fine red checkers out, which I would not have parted with for $2. He rose into the air and after circling once flew away faster than I ever saw a pigeon fly before. In discussing the matter with some people, they think he will come back, but he has not. Others think he has gone back to you.—M. S., Montana. Note. Letters like the above come to us constantly. Guard your doors carefully. Have springs on them so they will close with- out attention. Homers which you raise you can safely let fly, because they know no home but yours, but Homers which you buy will fly off. SQUABS 25 DAYS OLD. Note that although they have been in the bowl since hatching, it is comparatively free from manure. They back up to the edge of the bowl and void into the nest box. It is the nature of pigeons to try to have clean nests, and they should be given a chance by the use of nestbowls. NO CONCEPTION OF THE BEAUTY AND SIZE OF OUR EXTRAS. I received the birds last evening, just 24 hours after my order was sent in—prompt work, that. After having read your Manual and a great many testimonials, I was expecting som> fine birds, but find I had no conception of the beauty and size of your Extras. The compact bodies, rich, healthy color and uniformity of size were a thorough surprise. Iam going to follow your directions given in the Manual, and you may count on me as a customer to the extent of my means.—Mrs. M. F. C., Massachusetts. PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN DEMAND IN THIS GEORGIA TOWN. Enclosed find my check. Send me by express six pairs Extra blue-barred Plymouth Rock Homers, mated. I have about got this town started on raising pigeons. Mr. Barnes, my brother- in-law, has just handed me your new circular. He tells me he has ordered 12 pairs from you. I hope you will ship him some nice birds. His son has just bought some birds from the ———— and I want the birds you ship me and his father to make him regret that he did not order them from you. I ordered blue-barred birds from another party some time back and they sent me checkers. If I did not think you would send the order as I am sending it in, I would not send it to you. You remember I bought a few pairs of birds from you a little over a year ago. I have sold a great many birds and I have about 100 to 125 pairs of working birds on hand now. I am building me another pen that will hold about 200 pairs.—R. H. N., Georgia. RAISING PLYMOUTH ROCK STOCK ONLY. BEST BIRDS EVER SEEN ANY- WHERE. The birds came yesterday all O. K. and were fine birds, and the hen with a little age will also be on top. Please accept my thanks. What I especially wanted was solid reds and when you do get hold of such a pair that is A No. 1, send them to me and send me the bill. I om raising strictly Plymouth Rock stock and have developed some A No. 1 birds, the best I have ever seen anywhere, and so I swear by E. C. Rice stock. You state that not one in 100 birds are solid reds. I know this to be a fact. When I do go into the show I want to have the best of all colors and they shall he Extra Plymouth Rock stock.—R. B. W., New York. OUR WHITE HOMERS COMPARED WITH OUR COLORED HOMERS. I do not know cf aman I would trust any quicker than you. I would like to know if you have pure white Homers that are as large, plump birds as your colored ones are —G. M. L., Vermont. Answer. We charge $2.75 a pair for our white Homers. They are fine birds, as large as any white Homers in existence, but are not so large as our Extra colored Homers and do not breed so large a squab. They cost more because they are scarcer; we sell a lot of them for pets, for their handsome plumage, and for undertakers. PROLIFIC PLYMOUTH ROCKS HAVE BRED MORE SQUABS THAN ANY PIGEONS HE HAS. I came down to see you quite awhile ago and bought a pair of your Plymouth Rock Homers. Those Homers have bred more squabs than any other pigeons I have, and I have a good many. Will you please send me your catalogue of prices.——T. C., Massachusetts. nn ELE EEE UE UEEESEES EE Eseeeemeeneemeend LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 220 1907 FIVE MONTHS’ WORK. SMALL FLOCK QUADRUPLED. ONE OLD BIRD AND TWO SQUABS ONLY LOST BY DEATH. BREED- ERS OF COMMON PIGEONS MYSTIFIED. I write youa sort of detailed statement of how my four pairs of pigeons have done, that [ bought from you about the middle of May, 1907. One of my birds laid in about two weeks after her arrival, but the eggs did not hatch, and she laid again in about ten days after I found her eggs were not good, and that time she hatched all right. Two other pairs commenced work soon after the first, and both of them hatched all right and the first three pairs of squabs did well. I have lost one of the hens that I bought from you. She died after raising a fine pair of squabs. I have lost two squabs. I now have 18 birds in all, after deducting the three that I lost. All of my birds are now (October) at work, some making nests and some sitting. Mine are the only Homers in this part of the country that I know of, and every one who sees them is charmed with them. There are one or two parties here who are trying to raise the common pigeons on the same plan, that is by confining them, but are not doing much, and cannot understand why my birds do so much better than theirs. They say that if I make a success of the business they will then try Homers. I am very fond of the business and find it a great recreation, and. very little trouble. I attend to my birds before breakfast in the morning and give them plenty of water, and then at dinner time I feed them again, and that does them untilnext morning They are less trouble than anything of the kind that I ever had anything to do with, and I believe will be more profitable according to the amount of capital invested.—C. A. F., Mississippi. SECOND ORDER, BIRDS DOING WELL, ANOTHER ORDER IN PROSPECT. I here- with enclose you $1 in currency, for which please send me 50 open legbands for grown pigeons, numbered one to fifty. The last shipment of pigeons came to hand on the second in good shape, and are a nice lot of birds. I am well pleased with them. My birds are all doing well. I think that I shall give you another order soon.—F. R., Missis- sippi. (The first shipment to this customer was made in April, 1907, the second in October of the same year). GREAT DEMAND FOR PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUABS IN NEW JERSEY. I received on May 27, 1904, one dozen pairs of your birds and I have 200 birds at the present time. There is a great demand for Plymouth Rock squabs in New Jersey. Please send me your price on 50 pairs of your best Extra mated birds.—N. L., New Jersey. MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 FAST START IN TWO WEEKS IN NEW JERSEY. On April 22 I wrote you informing you of the arrival of the birds. Now (April 29) there are two nests complete and six others being built, which I should think was pretty good work for birds not vet two weeks in a strange place. The birds have been highly praised for their fine appearance by a number of friends and acquaintances of mine, and of course the natural question was, where did I get them? Andas Il ama pretty good advertiser for any one that I consider to be worthy of such advertising, I have recommended your company as the right one to go to if they have any idea of investing.— J. H., New Jersey. IN THE SNOW. Let them out on sunny winter days. In cold, stormy weather they are better off inside. FINEST BIRDS THAT HE EVER SAW IN LOUISIANA, RESULT, MANY MORE ORDERS. I received my birds Saturday evening, November 2, at 7 p.m. Found them all in A 1 shape and are the finest birds I ever saw. Please accept my most sincere thanks for the extra pair and for your nice selection. I will return your basket one day this week, will take bill of lading for same from express agent and forward to you date I return same. I will send you an order for 12 pairs more about the 25th of this month. I want to order a small shipment each month until I get about 100 pairs of breeders.— G. W. T., Louisiana. PERFECTLY MATED IN WEST VIRGINIA. I write to tell you how well my pigeons are doing. I am very well pleased with them as I believe they were perfectly mated and went right to work after they were in the loft not more than a week.—J. M., West Virginia. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 221 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 EVERY PAIR AT WORK IN DOUBLE- QUICK TIME. BUILDING UP A PLANT. I think a few lines to you is my duty. I expected to be at your office and plant before now. My young son got struck by a trolley car about the time I was going to go to Boston, and just escaped very serious results, so I have stayed pretty close at home, but bane a vacation in July and will call on you then. About the birds, they are doing fine. They went to work at once and some of them are now on their third lot of eggs. They held their matings, every pair. I feel very much encouraged and appreciate your fair and honest business principles. You will receive orders from us in the future as we are going to build up quite a plant.—H. I Massa- chusetts. SQUABS THREE WEEKS OLD. BRANCHING OUT FROM A SMALL BEGINNING AFTER SUCCESSFUL EXPERI- ENCE WITH PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS IN UTAH. I have decided to go into the squab business on a large scale and when my business interests are cared for will move to Salt Lake City where I hope to work up a good business The birds purchased from you have been very satisfactory in every particular and my business in the future will be done direct with your good company. My health is poor through confinement and I am determined to try squab raising for the urpose of making a success and money.— W. B., Utah SQUABS AS A SIDE LINE. Please send me two dozen wood-fibre nestbowls by express. The birds I received from you April 1 are all working satisfactorily (May 13, 1907). I do this as a side issue. I work in the factory all day and take care of my Pigeons nights and mornings, and find it very pleasant work.—E. D. D., Massachusetts. TEN PAIRS OF SQUABS A YEAR FROM ONE PAIR. MARKET BROADENING AND DEMAND INCREASING. The pigeons that I bought from you are doing nicely. Most of them seem to be in good condition and keep steadily at work. One pair raised ten pairs of squabs a year and there are others that almost equal them. I began last fall to save those from the best breeders. I had to keep them in the house with the older birds because J had nowhere else for them to stay. They disturbed the pigeons through the winter, but they are mating and getting to work now. I sell all the squabs I can raise to one of the local marketmen. At first there was no sale for them except in summer when wealthy people from the larger cities are sojourning here, but he bought all I had last winter. (See note below.) When ready for market they weigh from two pounds to two and one-half pounds a pair. They are white and fat and the dealer has complimented me a number of times about them. I find the business very interesting and would like to engage in it more extensively if I could get more time to devote to the birds, but it is impossible to do so at present. —Miss M. D., Connecticut. Note. The squab market has broadened tremendously since we first began advertising in the high class periodicals advising people to eat squabs as well as raise them. This habit of eating squabs has a steady hold all the year round on thousands of families who ten years ago did not know what a squab was. This demand is increasing every year. In spite of the steady growth in production of squabs, the prices are as high, and in many cases, higher than ten years ago. DELAWARE MAN FINDS IN OCTOBER, 1907, THAT NEW YORK MARKETS ARE HOLDING GOOD. PRICES ARE LIKELY TO GO HIGHER. I received your Manual yesterday and am very much pleased with it and stayed up until 1.30 last night reading it. I believe that if I follow your instructions and make up my mind to make a success of it, I will be able to do it. I knew a little about pigeons before, as my brother and I kept a flock of common pigeons when we lived in Long Island City, but had to move to New York City and had to do away with them. I have a few mongrels on hand now and am experimenting a little, but as soon as able will send you an order. It will not be very large, but if your stock is as good as repre- sented (like your Manual) it will be all right. I have written to New York markets for prices and find they are still holding up good and I believe next year they will go higher. Hoping you the best of success.—N. H. C., Delaware. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 222 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 OTHER HOMERS HAVE NOT THE UALITY OF PLYMOUTH ROCK. SQUABS EIGH FIFTEEN OUNCES, FEATHERS OFF. On December 22, 1906, I bought three pairs of Extra Plymouth Rock Homers from you, and since then have had considerable Juck with them. They are the best pigeons for breeding as well as for fancy I have yet seen. I’ve seen other Homers similar to those I have but they have not the quality of the Plymouth Rock. They weigh at the age of four weeks on an average 15 ounces, dressed, and are the finest pigeons for eating purposes that can be had. When I received the pigeons I knew but very little about them; but after following your Manual carefully I found results as stated, and will say it is worth double the amount I paid for it. I also made a feeder as shown in your Manual and think it is the proper thing for pigeons as there is but very little waste in feed. Out of the three old pairs I raised 28 squabs, losing but very few during the winter. I now have six pairs left which I am going to keep for breeders. The others I have been selling to friends here right along. I get from 50 to 75 cents a pair at the age of two months. I now (September, 1907) have a larger and better place for them and find they are breed- ing a little better. They require but little care and are a great pleasure for pastime.— E. W., Missouri. NINE HATCHES IN TEN MONTHS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. WOMAN HAS NOT LOST A BIRD, OR HAD ONE SICK. Please find enclosed the sum of $2.90 postal note for which send me three dozen of your wood- fibre nestbowls by Dominion Express Co. Also if you would send me your price list I should be greatly obliged. I am quite well satisfied that your pigeons are all that you claim for them as to breeding qualities. I have one pair of the eight you sent me last May which have had nine hatches in ten months, and the others were never far behind them, and now I have quite a number of the young ones mated up and raising young. For a fine appearance I do not think there is anything in pigeons could beat them. Have followed the directions in your book and I have not lost one bird or had one sick. I quite expected to have sent you an order for more breeders before now, but I have had my husband sick a great deal this winter and funds would not permit of it, but I hope to send you one before long.—Mrs. A. O., British Columbia. EVERY PAIR HAS EITHER EGGS OR SQUABS IN CALIFORNIA. I am more than pleased with the way my birds are turning out the squabs and intend placing an order for more breeding stock soon. Every pair has either eggs or squabs and some have both. —I. L. T., California. EARNING POWER OF SMALL FLOCK INCREASING AT NO EXPENSE. We tre- ceived our birds March 24, 1907. We had 25 pairs. They started to work in about three weeks and we had the first squabs about the 10th of May. We have now (November 7, 1907) 120 young birds, and of these young birds we have five pairs that are working. Two pairs have already had young ones. Our entire expense for feed to date has been $36.52. Our expense for fitting up has been $140, not including price of birds. We figure that we have not made any money this year, and still we have not lost any, and think with more birds and a better knowledge of the business there would be good money in it.— F. E. B., Connecticut. SQUABS TWELVE DAYS OLD. POSTMASTER’S GOOD PROGRESS IN TWELVE MONTHS. I felt like it was my duty to write you a few lines. Just one year ago to day since I received my birds from you, seven pairs Plymouth Rock Homers. I now have 18 squabs, and 40 birds that can fly around in the pen. That makes 58 in all. I think that is doing remarkably well for 12 months’ time. am also trying to raise poultry. I have a fine place here for that purpose and thought that I could attend to that between times. I am postmaster here. After I get started and there is good money in it, I will sell out my store and do nothing else but raise squabs and poultry.—F. L. H., Illinois. USED GRAPE-VINE STICKS FOR NEST- ING MATERIAL. The pigeons bought are doing well. The flying pen is covered with grape vines. I neglected to put in any nesting material. All the pigeons have squabs, so they used great grapevine sticks, some as large as my finger.—W. E., Massa- chusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 223 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 STRONG MATINGS LAST TO THE STATE OF WASHINGTON AND SEVEN PAIRS OUT OF FOURTEEN HAVE EGGS WITHIN TWO WEEKS, REST DRIVING. Received your shipment of 14 pairs of Homers about two weeks ago. There are seven pairs of them on eggs today and the rest are all driving. They were all in first-class condition except one cock, which seemed to have had his neck hurt, as he could not hold his head up nor eat anything, and he died. Thank you for your promptness and the two pairs free.— H. G. M., State of Washington. VERY SUCCESSFUL WISHES TO BUY MORE. Could you tell us of a place where we could sell our pigeon manure? We have some four or five bushels. We have been very successful with our Homers. Starting with 12, we now have about 60 or 70. We want to buy some more breeders.—G. P., Missouri. SQUABS A FEW DAYS OLD. KENTUCKY WOMAN’S SUCCESS WITH FAST-BREEDING PLYMOUTH ROCKS. About 18 months ago we purchased from you six pairs of your Extra mated Homers, each pair a different color. These birds have done extra 30d work for us and have been more than satisfactory in every way. We have on hand now about 50 mated birds and about 100 youngsters; some of which ought soon to mate. The birds are all in good condition, moulting, but in spite of that some are still at work.—Mrs. C. P. M., Kentucky. ALL MATED, QUICK IN GETTING TO WORK IN DISTANT TEXAS. The pigeons that I got from you last Thursday are getting along just fine. Two pairs have nests and as far as I can see they are all mated, The Extra hens, it took them just about a week, which is fine. The Wells Fargo would not ship the crate collect on delivery, so I paid them ten cents for shipping. I am well nleased with the birds—G. J. W., Texas. SQUABS TWICE AS LARGE AS THOSE FROM HOMERS FROM ORDINARY SOURCES. My birds purchased of you have been doing splendidly, under rather adverse circumstances because of the lack of care occasioned by my constant absence from home. Since entering into the business, I have taken special note of different pens in various parts of the State, of pigeons pur: chased elsewhere, and find to my entire satisfaction that none are as fine or finer than my birds. I have been unable to keep an exact tab on the rate at which they breed but I notice that certain pairs exceed others in this capacity and have been exceedingly satisfactory. As to size of squabs, I can best tell you in the words of one of my customers upon her first purchase: * Why, Mr. Cantey, I never saw such large, fat things in my life. I had to stuff and bake them, instead of broiling. They are twice as large as any I have been getting elsewhere. I wouldn’t mind if they were smaller.” This is her wunvarnished statement. I will send you a photograph of my pen in a few days.—H. C., South Carolina. OUR MATED PAIRS GO RIGHT TO WORK IN KANSAS. I have delayed writing in order to see how the birds were going to turn out. Can say that I am very much pleased with them. They were delayed in Junction City from Saturday until Monday, but arrived in good shape. One male had its eyes pecked until it couldn’t see, but I took it out and bathed the swelling and it was all O.K. in a few days. I have four eggs and three more nests are being built, so you see they are going right to work. I have them so tame that I can hardly keep from stepping on them when I go into the house. I will probably want more the first of the year and if I do I will certainly order from you.— CaE eee kemsase VIRGINIA CUSTOMER A _ STEADY " BUYER. I enclose check for ten pairs blue and blue checker breeding pigeons. Ship per Adams Express to me. intend to order in lots until I have 300 pairs. My old birds are doing well. I now have 18 pairs including squabs.—H. T.I., Virginia. (This customer’s first purchase was eight pairs, shipped in June, 1907. At this writing, November, 1907, he has sent in four more orders. His wife gave him a birthday surprise by ordering 20 pairs which we shipped so that they reached him on his anniversary.) NO SUBSTITUTES WANTED, BUT SOME- THING JUST AS GOOD. I want to make another order by the 25th of this month (October, 1907). The last pigeons you shipped me were beauties and I would like to have some more just as good.—C. O., Alabama. Hee a aad LETTERS FROM CUSTOMORS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 224 1907 MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1908 BIRDS WELL-MATED, WENT TO WORK AT ONCE. ONE OF HER SQUABS WEIGHED ONE AND ONE-HALF POUNDS. HER HOUSE WAS ON THE GROUND AND RATS GOT AT THE SQUABS. I bought my first pigeons of you and put them in my house on March 21, 1907. They were in fine shape and eyery one thought them the handsomest birds they had ever seen. I had 25 pairs. I think my first squab hatched April 21, and about all the birds were at work then, I think. I had my first two squabs on my own table and one of them when all dressed ready for baking weighed one pound and a half. Can any one beat that? I have not kept account of the number I have sold, but could have made a good thing of it if the rats had not got in. I sell them here in Scituate to the butcher for 20 cents apiece. While I was away this summer the one that took care of my birds for me sold a number of pairs of squabs to breed from for 50 cents a pair. I shall sell no more at that price. I have followed your Manual as nearly as I could ir regard to feeding the birds and find my birds are big and fat and I have not had one sick one among them all. Neither have. I been troubled with lice. Waen I came home this September I took account of stock and found that I had just 16 pairs of birds ieft. You see the rats did us great harm, but we had the house raised and now I am sending for ten pairs more of the Extra Homers and hope to make a good thing of the squab business after this. I shall keep an exact account of all my birds. There are a number of people around here that keep pigeons, but I think mine are the best birds of them all. Those that see mine want to have birds of the same kind. I think you will have some orders soon if you have not done so already from some that have seen mine and want birds like them. I got my birds to make money with and I am going to do it if it is to be done. And I am sure it is. I think your Manual is a fine thing to have if one is going to do any- thing in the squab business. When I want to know anything about the business I always look in the Manual and I can most always find my answer. I should not want to get along without the book. Enclosed please find post-office money order for the ten pairs of Extra Homers and other goods I sent for. I wish to thank you for the extra pair of birds you so kindly offer to send. I hope to send for more birds before many months if these do well. I took a picture of my pen with some of the birds in it to-day, and if good will send you one.— Mrs. J. H. H., Massachusetts. Note. Rats burrow in the dirt and raise their families in these holes. When the floor of the squab-house is on the ground, the rats breed out of sight and out of reach, then they get into the squab-house quickly. As we say in the Manual, the floor of the squab- house must be elevated two feet, then there will be no rats, for they will not start breeding in the open air under such a house. LOST ONLY ONE OLD BIRD AND ONE SQUAB IN FIVE MONTHS’ BREEDING IN MISSISSIPPI. Please let me know what you will let me have about four pairs of first- class pigeons for. My pigeons are doing finely. I have 16 now (September, 1907), just twice the number I bought of you in April. Ihave fost one of the old ones and one of the squabs. J have enlarged my quarters and want to enlarge my flock somewhat. I have one pair setting and two pairs have just raised a pair each and are ready for business —C. A. Mississippi. NEST OF TOBACCO STEMS. Some birds build a neat, compact nest like the above, and like tobacco stems to work with. GENEROUS AND HONORABLE DEAL- INGS. I received to-day by mail a leg-band outfit complete, with which I am very much pleased, and wish to thank you very much for same. If at any time I can do anything for you, don’t hesitate to acquaint me of it, as I would like to show my appreciation for your generous and honorable dealings with me. My pigeons are al! doing finely and I have quite a bunch of fine young birds. Thanking you again for your kindness and extraordinary promptness.—W. G., New Jersey. SICK BIRD REPLACED. I received your postal today and was agreeably surprised to hear that you are willing tc replace our sick bird. I hardly expected to receive such honest treatment. It is a relief to find an honest man these days. That bird we wish to replace is a hen. All the other birds are getting along finely.—F.A., Massachusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 225 1907 RAPID BREEDING. CONTENTED MIND AND A CLEAR RECOMMENDATION FOR PLYMOUTH ROCK HOMERS. This is the first time J have had occasion to write you a for a year, so here it is briefly. Being a business man myself, I know the value of time. I put 21 pairs Plymouth Rock Homers in loft August 6, 1906. Have sold and eaten ten and one-half dozen squabs. Have on hand to-day, October 8, 1907, 80 pairs mated breeders and near the end of the moulting season. Ihave about a dozen not ready for market and about a dozen pairs of eggs, divided between two lofts, 40 pairs in each and outside of fear of rats. I have a contented mind and a clear recommend for Plymouth Rock Homers.—W. T. P., Ohio. RAISED FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK EXTRAS. In sending the above picture he writes: “The parents I got from you. I refused ten dollars a pair for one pair this winter. J have seen several large squab ranches in Delaware but on all of them I never saw any birds that could throw such birds as those sold by you.” MONTANA MAN LIKES OUR STYLE OF DOING BUSINESS. Received vour notice of shipment of birds yesterday (Sunday 29) and received the four pairs of fine Extra Homers to-day (30th) all in good shape. They are al! fine birds and we are much pleased with them. It was very kind and generous of you people to send an extra pair free of charge, and also drinker and bowls as we did not expect either. If this our first venture proves successful, you can_ rest assured you shall hear from us again. I like your style of doing business.—H. S. C., Montana. A TREAT TO BE TREATED WELL. The eleven pairs of birds (second order) arrived here yesterday and all in first-class condition. I shall place another orde1 shortly, as I have to complete the buildings, and J am highly pleased at the manner your firm does business. It is a treat to know that one’s order is filled satisfactorily.—J. N., Virginia. MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS 1903 SQUABS SOLD TO HOTEL FOR FIFTY CENTS A PAIR IN KENTUCKY. I received your shipment of six pairs of Extra Homers, all in good condition; thank you for the Extra hen. This was the finest lot of Homers I ever saw in size and plumage, which is so uniform that it is hard to tell one from the other. I will send for another order some time next month. I sold three pairs of squabs this morning at 50 cents per pair to the hotel, and they say that my squabs are fine. (Later.) Find enclosed money order for which send me six pairs of your Extra nest-mated Homers, checkered and uniform in plumage. Every pair I have are working and some have two nests; one has three young squabs, which I think is unusual.—A. H., Kentucky. FIVE YEARS OF SUCCESS BY A NEW YORK STATE WOMAN. In October of 1902 1 sent you a check for $102.75 for pigeons. My pigeons have done very well. I ship to New York each week. I have just been reading your new squab book of 1907 and would very much like the address of the firm you quote in appendix on page 141 and top first column page 148. Kindly send it to me thereby helping an old customer. Also kindly send me price of the new drinking fountain spoken of in your Manual. I need three new ones and if satisfactory as to price will buy of you.—Miss O. W., New York. STOCK DOUBLED IN MOULTING SEA- SON. We have sent you to-day an order for grain for which we hope you will send as soon as possible. We bought stock from you several times, the first order sent in about June 1. Since that time (three months) the stock has doubled. We expect to place a large order in the spring along about March. We have about 75 birds in stock at present and started with a stock of 32. We shall have to have a few white birds in our next order. What is the price of the white stock at present? Hoping you will send us the grain soon.—C. & F., Massachusetts. FAST NESTING BY MATED PAIRS IN TEXAS. My birds received August 10 and turned into pen; the 17th they were building their nests, making seven days from arrival— all the birds in good shape. One did not fly on perch for about two minutes, but after this time have nothing wrong with them. They have certainly proven all that you have recom- mended of them and as to nesting have beaten your figures quite a bit. Thanking you for your extra favor, will do more business as soon as I locate where I will make my squab farm.—G. R., Texas. MANUAL WORTH TEN DOLLARS. I am very much pleased with your Manual and think it worth $10. I shall send you an order for breeding stock some time this month, and grain and supplies. just as quick as I can get my house built —T. H., Massachusetts. LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS RECEIVED BY PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB COMPANY 226 APPENDIX E (Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice.) (Above pictures copyright, 1907, by Elmer C. Rice) CARNEAUX. BIG, RED PIGEONS. The Carneau (pronounced car-no; plural Carneaux, pronounced the same) breed is new to this country. These pigeons are larger than the Homers and breed squabs weighing over a pound apiece. Plumage almost invariably copper red (rare specimens yellow) splashed a little with white; long body; broad breast; shape of head and body, and poise of body, different from other varieties; quiet disposition, not so timid as other breeds; meat of squabs uncommonly white; have no homing qualities; they may be allowed to fly, if desired, after a fortnight’s con- finement, will stay around the place where they are fed, will not try to fly back to place where bred; feed their young steadily and well; breed nine to ten pairs of squabs per year; are housed, fed and handled same as Homers; strong, rugged build. The above pictures give a very good idea of this variety. A customer in Greensburg, Penn., writes: ‘‘ This is the first time in my life to receive a circular picturing anything which gave a true picture; your picture is true to life in every detail. EEverybody who sees my Carneaux is greatly taken with them. In every way they are doing splendidly.” I spent several months in Europe in 1906, partly to study in their home the Carneaux pigeons, which then were just becoming known in America and were recommended in sensational terms. It was my purpose to see the evidence at first hand and find out if the claims were founded on fact. My investigations were favorable to this breed but I have waited two years to see how the birds would breed in our own lofts and in the lofts of customers. At this writing we have sold about a thousand pairs of Carneaux and orders for more are coming in fast. Previous to our importing this breed, there were about 600 pairs of Carneaux in America. In our long experience with pigeons, we have never known such a demand 2270 228 NAT T ONE SICAUN DARDS OO AB a O One as there is for Carneaux. Six dollars a pair may be obtained by anybody who has the breeders for sale. Youngsters weaned and able to stand shipment sell for three dollars a pair. The squabs sell alive for ten dollars to twelve dollars a dozen. It costs no more to feed and raise thesé birds than other pigeons. The selling price both for squabs and breeders being so much larger, that is why the profit is larger. Onaccount of the tremendous demand - for these birds for breeders, nobody is selling the squabs from them killed, but if they ever get so numerous that squabs are marketed from them, the price will be the very top notch. This breed has been developed by the pigeon breeders of Belgium. There are some Carneaux in France and Germany, but they are inferior in size and beauty to the Belgian birds, and few in number. They are not very plentiful in Belgium. We have made arrangements for the output of all the adult, perfect pairs of Carneaux the breeders of Belgium can furnish, fit for breeding, but so far they have not been able to furnish us more than 200 pairs a month, so scarce are the birds. We hope to get more from them. We have saved out 500 pairs Carneaux and are breeding them at our farm. Wecan supply Carneaux imported by us, or (in limited number) bred by us from birds of our importation. Why is the demand for Carneaux so much greater than the supply? Just this: They eat no more than Homers, but breed faster, and breed bigger squabs. la other words, they not only produce more squabs than the Homers, but the squabs bring at least one-third more money. The breeder making a profit from Homers will make more than double his profits with Carneaux. For years, the study has been to produce a pigeon larger than the Homer which would breed faster than the Homez. This has been accomplished in the Carneaux. We know it by our own investigation and actual breeding of this variety, and we know it by the experiences of our customers. The big breeds, all of which we have tried, such as Runts, Maltese, Italians (personally selected in Italy), breed big squabs, but they breed with exasperat- ing slowness. Crossed with Homers, the rate of breeding is improved, but the squabs are no larger than from our Extra Plymouth Rock Homers, so it is far better to breed the straight Extra Homers. The Carneaux breed squabs weighing a pound or more apiece and they breed nine pairs to ten pairs of squabs a year. For these two reasons, we believe that the Carneaux will displace the Homers in time. It will take many years because the Homers have a strong hold now and the Carneaux are scarce. Nevertheless, the cash returns from squabs weighing 12 pounds and 14 pounds to the dozen give a great profit to the breeder, and profits are what all squab breeders are after. Any one who has both Homers and Carneaux can get in a year from each pair of Carneaux 15 or more pairs of squabs. Theoretically this is impossible for any pigeons. However, the Carneaux have help from the Homers. Just how this done is fully explained by us at the end of this article in the para- graph headed, “ How to Breed Fifteen Pairs of Squabs from One Pair of Car- neaux in One Year.” ae : One of our customers, a Southern gentleman, visited our farm in the fall of 1906. He liked the looks of the Carneaux and on returning home later sent for three pairs, which we shipped him December 26, 1906. On February 13, 1907, he wrote us asking how many pairs we could give him. He took all we could then supply at $6.00 a pair, giving the following endorsement of his first AUP I-IS INIDIDS 1d, 229 purchase: ‘‘ The three pairs I got December 28 have raised six squabs and are setting again (February 20), and I have not had them 60 days yet. So far they beat the Homers.”’ Under date of April 29, he wrote us: ‘“‘ I have now, in my lofts, between 800 and 900 birds. Have Maltese, Mondaines, Carneaux and Homers, but the Carneau is the favorite bird with every- body that sees them. Have nearly 100 of these now and they are very rapid breeders, raising squabs that weigh from one to one and one-half pounds each. Have not sold any yet, but have enough orders on hand for them, at $6.00 a pair, to take all that I can raise for some time tocome. Think at the present rate I can get eight to ten pairs a year from them.’’ Under date of December 13, 1907, he wrote us as follows: ‘‘ I have now something over 100 pairs of Carneaux. Have sold a few pairs and could have sold many more, but wanted my stock to accumulate and get as many breeders on hand as pos- sible. They are the best birds for squab raising that I have ever seen, and I believe I have seen them all. They breed faster, eat less, are hardier, better setters and feeders, and gentler than any of the other breeds, and for beauty they are unsurpassed. I have all told now about 3000 birds in my lofts. Have been very successful with my plant so far. May want some more Carneaux from you later on.”’ A customer in Missouri bought four pairs of Carneaux and liked them well enough to buy six more pairs three months later, saying: ‘“‘ 1am keeping an accurate record, which promises to be something startling for the year. Two pairs went to work (laid eggs) within 10 days. The third pair went to work in 26 days. The fourth hen was not so well along in the moult and did not lay until November 8. The average weight of squabs at four weeks old has been 17.6 ounces, weighed without crops filled with feed. The four pairs have made nine nests in less than 90 days, or a total average production of better than nine pairsa year. The actual average production is better than this, of course, as it wouldn’t be fair to count an average until all birds are at work. I have found them to be all that is desirable in a pigeon. They are good feeders and do not use more feed than the Homers.”’ In November, 1907, we shipped 21 pairs of our Carneaux to a Philadelphia breeder, who replied: ‘‘ To say I am pleased, these words do not express it. They are the finest lot of birds I have seen anywhere. My friend, who imported 25 pairs of Carneaux some time ago from Belgium, is very much disappointed with his Carneaux since he has seen the shipment you sent me. I shall endeavor to do all I can for the interest of your house in the way of orders. I received the 21 pairs of Carneaux Saturday, 8.30 p.m. On Men- day, at 10 o’clock in the morning, nine pairs of the birds sent had almost completed nine nests in their new home (in a little over one day).. This seems remarkable to me and I write you these few lines to get your opinion of the work they have done.”’ Other breeders, not our customers, who have bred the Carneaux, praise them as follows: “They will easily average three squabs a year in excess of select Homers. A conservative estimate of squab weight under favorable conditions is 18 ounces.” ‘“ They average nearly a pair of squabs per month. For fancy and squab producing qualities, the Carneaux easily lead all.” ‘* No question about Carneaux. They are it.” ‘“T have only two pairs. Results are so satisfactory that,I am clearing lofts to devote exclusively to Carneaux.”’ 230 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK “ The Carneaux boom has struck this country for fair.” “ The Carneaux exceed all others in point of squab producing, not only in numbers and weight, but also in the clarity of the skin, the palatableness of the flesh, and prolific nature.” ‘The consensus of opinion seems to be that the Carneaux will produce 10 pairs, or 20 pounds of squabs per pair to the year, while some place the average higher. Few place it lower.” “All I have read has been substantiated by my own personal experience. Their yearly yield is from 10 to 11 pairs of squabs.”’ “My experience with Carneaux is limited to two years. They are great. The Carneaux will occupy the place of honor in loft and showroom. Ten pairs of squabs is the yield per year.” ‘“T have bred them two years. Carneaux are as superior to the Homer as the Homer is to the common pigeon. It is the rule rather than the exception for the Carneaux to produce nine pairs of white-meated squabs a year which will average one pound each. My experience proves conclusively that they will produce twice as many pounds of squabs 1n a year as the ordinary birds now generally used as squab breeders, and one of the most conspicuous points in their favor is the fact that the cost of keeping them is no more,”’ A few advertisers of pigeons who live inland, not in a seaport city, may ‘‘run down’”’ imported pigeons, saying they are no good, culls, not acclimated, poor breeders, and so forth, ad nauseam. The reason why these soreheads fret so is, that it is impossible for them to import pigeons success- fully. To do this successfully, steadily, profitably, one must live on the sea- board, close to where the Antwerp steamers come, and must have a personal acquaintance with the officers of the steamships, and see them at every sail- ing, and pay them for their work in caring for the birds. The reason why those who decry imported pigeons do not sell them is simply that they cannot get them, or, if they think they can get them, they wish to sell something in which there is a greater profit. We have seen not much talk of this kind, in opposition to imported pigeons, but it will be indulged in more or less as the traffic in Carneaux increases. The trade calling for Carneaux in America must be supplied with imported birds or go without them, for nobody can ship day by day, steadily, Carneaux of his own raising. You should be sure and get Carneaux which have been in this country at least one or two months, and have got their sea-legs off, for it is our experience that the long voyage results in a goodly percentage of dead and injured birds, depending on the weather and the caretakers. That imported Carneaux go to work quickly is indicated by the letter of the Philadelphia gentleman above quoted, nine pairs out of 21 pairs having built nests within two days after delivery to him. Our trade in Carneaux is increasing every month and we expect to sell many thousand pairs in 1908 and 1909. We recommend them to our cus- tomers. We do not wish anybody to take our word for their excellence. Try them alongside of your Homers and form your own opinion. Anybody who buys Carneaux of us and is not perfectly satisfied with them, and that all we say here is true, after six months’ trial, may exchange them for our Extra Plymouth Rock Homers at the rate of three pairs of Homers for one pair of Carneaux. AIP IA IE, IN IDI I, 231 HOW TO BREED FIFTEEN PAIRS OF SQUABS FROM ONE PAIR OF CARNEAUX IN ONE YEAR. (Copyright, 1908, by Elmer C. Rice). During the first eight months of the year, January to August, the Carneaux may be robbed of their eggs twice a month and they will lay again about 10 days later. A pair of Carneaux build a nest, and the two eggs are laid. On the day they are laid .or the second or third day, if the first day is not convenient for you) you take away the two eggs from the Carneaux nest and carry them in your hands to the pen where you have Homers breeding. You look around in the pen until you find a nest with Homer eggs. You throw these Homer eggs away, putting in their place the two Carneaux eggs. The Homers keep right on sit- ting and hatch out, not their own eggs, but the two CaIEnISa Ta eggs, and raise the two Carneaux squabs. - Meantime, the pair of Carneaux from which you took the eggs wish more eggs, and within 10 days to 14 days the hen lays again. Now, as you did at first, you take away these two eggs from the -Carneaux and put them under Homers. Do not take away the third setting of eggs from the Carneaux. Let the eggs stay in the Carneaux nest and the Carneaux will hatch and raise them. For example, a Carneau hen lays two eggs June 1. Take them away and substitute them for the eggs in a Homer nest. The Carneau hen will lay again June 10 to June 15. Take the two eggs away and substitute them for the eggs in a Homer nest. The Car- neau hen will lay again June 25to July 1. This will give you three settings of eggs from one pair in 30 days. Let the Carneaux raise the third setting and then repeat the process. During the last four months of the year, take away the eggs only once and let the female Carneau set on the second pair of eggs From 15 pairs to 18 pairs of squabs from one pair of Carneaux may be produced in one year by the above method. With Carneaux selling for six dollars a pair, of course it pays to use Homers to increase the supply of Carneaux. With ordinary success, in follow- ing this method, the capacity of a pair of Carneaux may be doubled. COMMENT ON ABOVE. We do not think this forcing method would have the slightest effect on the health of the Carneaux. Hens and ducks lay a great many more eggs than 232 NATIONALS S i ANIDAKD SiO(WTAGS Once pigeons. It is not much strain on the female pigeon to lay four or six eggs a month instead of two. The strain of production comes from setting on the eggs day after day, not in laying the eggs, we should guess. Why not take away all the Carneaux eggs and hatch them under Homers? some may ask. We do not believe in this, as far too unnatural. The Car- neaux should be given an opportunity to raise the third setting, for that is what they are striving for. This method has been tested thoroughly with birds purchased from us and it works all right. There is nothing far-fetched about it. You simply take the eggs away and let Homers hatch them out. At the same time, simple as. this plan is, it has never been published before, to our knowledge, nor has it ever been tried except by a few breeders of our acquaintance. It is not uncommon for breeders of fancy pigeons of poor feeding and raising qualities to put their eggs under Homers, but no motive for doubling the squab pro- duction from certain pigeons has ever existed until today, when it is money in the breeder’s pocket to turn out all the six-dollar pairs of Carneaux he can in the shortest space of time. — Pann ' gah be x 141908 ; . 4 21 dM) | | a LIBRARY OF CONGRESS state. reistety S Pebubshitetabsbtbeha) 7. i I ‘ aerial taigtas epee aeecs Arita Bests etelatet Felipe ce peat rsititel pete Dees Baars ist - agers maar starters rt 5 a the HI 7 = trip ci : 2 reyitily ie scirigietts os it ai iat aay af,