Pigeon raising

SB 277 SIM

PIGEON
RAISING

by ALICE MACLEOD

ill

PIGEON RAISING

PIGEON RAISING

BY

ALICE MACLEOD

u

Illustrated

QUT-ING
HANDBOOKS

NUMBER 35

NEW YORK

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

MCMXIII

ts v f

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

All rights reserved

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGU

I. THE NOVICE AND His MISTAKES 9
II. How I SHOULD BUILD A PIGEON

PLANT 21

III. COSTS AND PROFITS . . . . '35

IV. THE VARIOUS BREEDS AND THEIR

MARKINGS 49

V. THE NATURE AND HABITS OF

HIGH-BRED PIGEONS ... 67

VI. BREEDING 81

VII. DISEASE AND FEEDING ... 95
VIII. MARKETING, KILLING, AND CUR-
ING FEATHERS . . . . 105

454786

THE NOVICE AND HIS
MISTAKES

PIGEON RAISING

CHAPTER I

THE NOVICE AND HIS MISTAKES

THE work of raising pigeons is light
and interesting, the profits large and
steady, but it is a business tha't must
be brought to a scientific basis from the very
start and it embraces many branches of very
practical knowledge. Few people who go into
pigeon raising take the trouble to understand
this or to study the nature of pigeons on whom
they are entirely dependent for success in the
enterprise. Pigeons by nature are as delicate
and refined as the most sensitive human beings
and it requires knowledge and skill to handle
them profitably. The pigeon raiser to be suc-
cessful financially must center his interests on
the welfare of his subjects, who are entirely
dependent on him for everything, or cut loose
his wire netting and let them shift for them-
selves.

Not every person is fitted for raising pigeons.
A person of very sensitive feelings should not
engage in the business. In gathering up the

9

10 PIGJ&GN RAISING

squabs for market, they will cling confidingly to
you and gaze at you with frightened eyes of
reproach from their baskets as they are driven
away by the expressman, for they are as near
human beings as it is possible for fowls to be.
I have known strong men to give up the busi-
ness on account of this, but as such things must
be, I will endeavor to do good from a humane
view, by devoting an entire chapter to explain-
ing the nature and habits of pigeons.

Princes, poets, prelates, judges, and ladies of
high degree have been in the ranks of the
pigeon fancier during ages past, for "pigeon
fancy " antedates the Christian era, and we
have record that they took " keen pleasure in
their pigeon lofts and the company of their
birds."

The results these great people accomplished
appear marvelous when we examine the various
breeds that have sprung, as Darwin assures us,
from the parent stock of the rock-pigeon, or
wild pigeon, of Europe and North Africa. It
was love for their birds that enabled them to
accomplish these results, that gave them the
patience to persevere through discouragements.
Gentleness, kindness, and patience are the first
requisites for the pigeon raiser to possess?
coupled with a clear, methodical business head,

THE NOVICE 11

if he expects to build his own plant; if Ke can
afford to hire an expert to start it, it is simple
enough to run it afterwards.

No one can be in the business for any length
of time without improving and broadening his
nature. To be successful the pigeon raiser must
study his flock by spending hours, at first, quietly
observing them in all their phases until he gets
to know them, and they become familiar with
him ; and through this, unconsciously, Ivs nature
becomes gentler and kinder. This is not only
my experience, but it is that of the most noted
experts for centuries past.

Bearing these things in mind, the novice
should be cautious how he plunges into the
business without due consideration. He should
bury his suspicions and listen to counsel, and
never depend on his own wisdom until he has
experience at the back of it. I have never found
that men in the business gave wrong advice, but,
on the contrary, they were willing to talk intel-
ligently and profitably as long as I was willing
to listen.

If a man makes a business of selling pigeons
it is to his interest to start his customer right in
order to sell him more; and if the novice buys
young stock it is impossible to be cheated on
the score of worn-out birds,

12 PIGEON, RAISING

Many of the failures of the novice are en-
tirely due to the neglect of some small point
which he thought he could carry out independ-
ent of the counsel of the wise; as, for instance,
a lady I know built exceedingly well, but she
faced her houses to the north. With the stock,
which she imported from the East, she certainly
spent $3,000, and she systematically lost it be-
cause her birds never got the sun. They were
confined in cold, dreary houses and fly-pens.
Then, she was sure the Eastern bird was a good
market squab for the West, although every
pigeon raiser she consulted advised her to the
contrary. She was sure it was because they
had stock for sale.

A Frenchman comes along and wishes to buy
stock, but it must be cheap. Without any expe«
rience whatever, he builds according to his own
ideas and crowds his pens with an ill-assorted
lot of birds at $2.00 a dozen; in a few months
he is sold out at auction.

Another customer chooses a locality because
of its beauty and climate, but, in spite of re-
peated warnings, miles away from the grain
dealer. In just one year the six hundred mag-
nificent birds, which I had sold to him and which
I had found so profitable, were disposed of at
a disgustingly low figure to be shot for sport.

THE NOVICE 13

Therefore, with these and many similar in-
stances in my mind, I would suggest to the
novice that if he wishes to build a successful
pigeon plant he should strictly adhere to eight
fundamental rules:

1. Select a good neighborhood — know that
the neighbors are honest — and that there is a
plentiful supply of water.

2. The pigeon houses and pens must face the
south — pigeons love sunshine and / running
water.

3. The pigeon raiser should have a deed to
his place, as pigeons cannot be moved without
heavy loss.

4. Wholesale grain dealers should be within
easy reach, for grain must be bought by tons.
And it is also necessary to be within the pre-
cincts of express delivery.

5. There must be quick transportation to
market — within, at least, a few hours, unless
the birds are to be dressed and refrigerated.

6. The pigeon houses and nests must be large
and roomy and the latter numerous, but the fly-
pens should be small.

7. The feed must be varied — with some of
the cheapest kind before the birds all the time.

8. In buying stock, buy only youngsters. Se-
lect the breed that the prospective market de-

14 PIGEON RAISING

mands — buy at least 200 or 300 for the market
pen and four or five dozen for the parent stock.

Unless the intending pigeon raiser has suffi-
cient means to follow out these rules, I would
not advise him to go into the squab raising busi-
ness. It does not pay to go into it on a smaller
scale, for the steady income comes from regular
shipments, and the income must be steady to
counterbalance the regular output for grain.

A first-class, systematized, and well-cared-for
pigeon plant should double its original stock
every six to eight weeks. That is, if the pigeon
raiser has 300 breeders he should count on hav-
ing close on to 300 squabs during six or eight
weeks to sell or raise, as he chooses. But, of
course, he must give his pigeons the proper con-
ditions, as it is an acknowledged fact that laying
and hatching are purely optional with the
pigeon. To quote a noted pigeon raiser, " The
process of laying an egg is a mental operation.
The female pigeon forms the egg in her body
and lays it when she wants to, not when she is
forced to. In other words, she lays when con-
ditions are satisfactory to her."

I was once a novice myself, but I loved birds
and I was eager to study and and gain all the
knowledge I could for their welfare.

When I took possession of my place, a coun-

THE NOVICE 15

try-town lot of loox 150 feet, facing the south,
there was a mixed flock of 1,100 pigeons of va-
rious breeds; thoroughbred to start in with, but
allowed to cross-breed among themselves. They
were in one narrow house built the full width
of the lot (100 feet), against a high board
fence, with one fly-pen the same length and forty
feet wide.

There were no squabs in the nests, and I was
told it was because it was the moulting reason.
This is not true; a well-fed, well-housed pigeon
will breed the year round. These pigeons had
had nothing but wheat, wheat, wheat — and
white wheat at that — from one day's end to an-
other, dumped into large, old-fashioned feeders,
allowed to get sour and filthy in damp weather.

There was a shed on the east end of the yard
and I built a corresponding one on the west, fill-
ing both with modern nests. Then I built a
thoroughbred pen. As there were no squabs to
disturb, and as I had decided to confine my
plant to two breeds and their crosses, I caught
up all the thoroughbreds and sold off all but
the runts and homers, which were compara-
tively few.

As, even then, I felt chary about the homer
for the Western market, I bought in a few Mal-
tese hens and more runts, and no runt-hen

16 PIGEON RAISING

crosses. These latter I turned in the main pen
and allowed them to mate with the others as
they chose.

While this was going on I built a small bach-
elor pen for odd males, and as soon as the pairs
were nesting I caught up the bachelors and shut
them securely in their pen until I could sell them
or get mates for them, for a bachelor pigeon is
a great mischief maker, entering the small
households and pecking little squabs to death.

With the change of feed, which I varied
from day to day, all was activity in the pigeon
villages. Such billing and cooing and nest mak-
ing! And right here I should like to say to
those who advocate nest cleaning, I had to fill
the new nests with pigeon manure before they
would take them. They crowded in and fought
for the old ones. The foundation of a nest
should be manure — they will put clean straws
on top — it keeps the squabs warm and free from
vermin. No vermin can live in pigeon manure,
as it is strong with ammonia.

There had been no marketing from this place.
The original 700 thoroughbreds and crosses
had been turned into the large pen to increase
to thousands without system or discretion, with
the result that they only increased 400 in a year.
This, I am confident, was due to the feeding.

THE NOVICE 17

Like human beings, pigeons must have variety.
Besides, white wheat causes dysentery among
squabs, and nothing discourages pigeons from
breeding so much as seeing their young die.

One of the hardest things for the pigeon
raiser to contend with is rats. The grain at-
tracts them; then they get a taste of squab; and
then they will kill the old pigeons; and, finally,
they will become so bold that they will come out
in daytime, in the very presence of the proprte-
tor, and kill pigeons and squabs as they sit on
the nests.

They had reached the squab stage with me,
to the extent of my losing fifty dollars' worth,
when a pigeon fancier happening to come to my
place suggested cats, and explained that there
was a difference in cats: some cats wouldn't
touch rats. He knew of some ratter cats and
would send me three young ones — females were
the best; and I must make them comfortable in
the pigeon yard and pay as much attention to
feeding them as I did the pigeons — fish one
day, liver another, cooked meat, soup, milk, and
vegetables, if they liked them.

It was the rainy season, so early next morn-
ing I set a man to work building a comfortable
cat-house in the pigeon yard — one that would
not leak. The cats arrived in the afternoon.

18 PIGEON RAISING

They were about six months old; two were tor-
toise-shell and one black and white. They
snuffed about for a while, then, as it was rain-
ing, settled themselves comfortably in their
house.

The ground beneath the feeders was honey-
combed with rat-holes. Next morning dead
rats were lying about the yard, and not a squab
was missing, nor did I ever see another rat on
the place.

After a few days I let the cats out during
the day to run about as they chose and catch
gophers in the alfalfa patch and mice in the
barn. At night they cried to go into the pigeon
yard.

My cats became so famous and numerous
that with every lot of breeders I sold I threw
in a cat. If it was a short journey, I placed the
cat in the same box with the pigeons.

HOW I SHOULD BUILD A
PIGEON PLANT

CHAPTER II

HOW I SHOULD BUILD A PIGEON PLANT

AS I have stated before, my houses were
narrow sheds with nests ranging the full
length on either side, where there were
no windows or doors. This is an extravagant
use of space. Nests built in tiers across the
width of the house are by far more economical
and, at the same time, this arrangement protects
the pigeons from draughts; yet the house may
be built open, if the climate admits.

My meaning can be understood by the accom-
panying diagram. Had I rebuilt on my place,
this is the plan I should have adopted.

For a mild climate build the houses sixteen
feet wide with four feet of this used as a pass-
age-way in the front, leaving twelve feet for
tiers of nests. These tiers should be nearly a
foot and a half wide, making eight tiers to the
twelve feet, and five feet and five inches, or five
nests, each a foot high.

The material of these nests should be one
inch rough lumber. The flooring of the nests

21

22

PIGEON RAISING

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YARD

LAYOUT FOR PIGEON PLANT

Size of Lot — 100 ft. x 150 ft.
Dotted lines=foot board 12 inches high
House i.=Odd Pigeons

2.=Youngster Crosses

3.=Nursery Maids— Thoroughbred Youngsters
" 4.=English Runt
" 5.=Maltese Hen

HOW I SHOULD BUILD 23

should be i x 18, likewise, every other partition.
The other partitions should be i x 14, thus leav-
ing a connecting passage-way of four inches at
the rear between every two nests. For every
pair of pigeons two nests must be provided and
fifteen or twenty extra for every fifty pairs.
This is one of the authoritative rules for profit-
able pigeon raising. By having a rear passage-
way between the two nests, the squabs can slip
from one nest to the other if there is any fight- /
ing going on. And there is also no likelihood
of their tumbling off the nest, as they can indulge
the spirit of adventure by climbing from one
nest to the other.

So the partitions of the nests would be even
with the flooring in the front. Now take half-
inch boards four inches wide and saw them into
1 7-inch lengths; then nail slides on each side
of the partitions five inches from the front
and slip these ly-inch lengths into place to
hold the nests in position. This gives each nest
a front platform of five inches for the pigeons
to stand on while feeding their squabs and a
comfortable place for the male to roost when he
is on guard at night.

First build the house strong and durable — it
may be only a shed in appearance but it must
be strong — sixteen feet wide. Then set up

24 PIGEON RAISING

partitions, extending from the floor to the roof,
twelve feet long, seven feet apart and on each
side, and against the outside walls, set the tiers
of nests. I advise using inch lumber for the nests
as you must build strong and lasting. A pair
of heavy pigeons, a pair of heavy squabs, and
heavy manure caked nests soon tell on thin lum-
ber and a breakdown is often disastrous; some-
times quite as expensive as the extra half-inch
in lumber would have been.

By following this plan you find you have two
rows of tiers of nests facing each other with a
space of four feet between. This is ample to
pass in and out with a wheelbarrow for cleaning,
thus making cosy little apartment houses.

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DETAIL OF NEST AND HOUSE

Scale #" = !'

Detail shows only one floor of nest^ there being five
floors.

HOW I SHOULD BUILD 25

Against the back wall of each of these little
apartment houses, place a feeder for steady
feed and a drinking fountain, such as are used
for chickens.

Each apartment house will contain eighty
nests, or forty pairs of nests, in which thirty-
four pairs of pigeons can be comfortably ac-
commodated. The front part of the house is
left entirely open. The roof slants on each side
from the ridge pole, being eight and one-half
feet from the ground in the center, and slop-
ing to a height of six feet on each side, including
a projection of at least three or four inches be-
yond the house. The back, or north wall, should
be made as nearly weather-proof as possible.

The four foot passage-way in the front of the
house should connect with the barn so as to
make it convenient to go back and forth in
stormy weather. The roof sloping over this
passage-way is supported by uprights — either
2x4, or 4 x 4 — with a foot-board 1x12, or set
in a curbing of concrete. Either way it is well
to have a shallow ditch of concrete to catch the
shed from the roof and carry it to the drainage
for the alfalfa patch.

The floors may be dirt, boards, or concrete.
I had dirt floors which I found very satisfactory
and, of course, cheap. Boards are also good

26 PIGEON RAISING

and easily kept clean. If boards are used, it is
best to raise the floor at least half a foot from
the ground. I have heard pigeon raisers say
that concrete floors are hard on the pigeon's
feet.

THE FLY-PEN

Make a strong frame of 2 x 4 uprights 8
feet high (if the house is set flat on the ground
without flooring) with 1x2 cross pieces and
foot-board of 1x12 for the fly-pens, and cover
the whole with one inch wire netting. I say
one inch because flocks of small birds enter
through two inch wire netting and, in a few
years, eat up enough feed to pay for the whole
plant. The partitions between the fly-pens, how-
ever, may be two-inch. Join the selvage of
the netting by weaving them together with
pliable wire. Fasten the netting to the south
slope of the roof of the house, half a foot from
the ridge-pole. This gives the pigeons a gently
sloping roof to parade up and down on in the
sun, which they dearly love to do.

The government experimented for years to
get a preservative for rough lumber that would
withstand the hot suns and heavy storms of
Arizona and California, and yet be inexpens-

HOW I SHOULD BUILD 27

ive. A mixture of crude oil and princess brown
was the result I put it to a five year's test and
found it possessed all the qualities that were
claimed for it. The strong suns and winter
storms of California soften exposed lumber,
even though it be white-washed several times, so
much that in a few years it will not hold nails.

Crude oil is extremely cheap — I paid twenty-
five cents for five gallons — likewise the princess /
brown. It is very disagreeable stuff to handle
and it is sometimes difficult to get a man to use
it; but its effect is so permanent that, I have
heard, it does not have to be applied a second
time.

Therefore, go carefully over the houses, in-
cluding roofs and nests, and the framework of
the flypens with this mixture and allow all to
dry thoroughly before putting to use. It takes
time to do it thoroughly, but it is worth while
doing well. It is not only a thorough preserva-
tive, but is healthful and no vermin can exist in
it; besides being of so somber a color that it is
restful to the eyes in a land of glaring sunshine.

There seems to be no rule for mixing. I
merely stirred the princess brown (which is a
powder) into the crude oil until it took on a
suitable color. Lumber thus treated has still
kept its strength and retained its color at the

28 PIGEON RAISING

end of five years, while that which had been
whitewashed or had not been treated at all was
so soft that it could scarcely hold the nails.

When the nests are ready, throw into each a
handful of alfalfa, twigs or tobacco stems, and
mash it down in the center, then scatter pigeon
manure on the top. This gives them courage
and they will bring more material and make it
to suit themselves. Never give them nesting
material that is hollow, such as straw, as vermin
can hide in it. Alfalfa is solid and cheapest,
even if it has to be bought by the bale. If the
pigeon raiser has no alfalfa patch, he can buy a
bale of the hay and get the man that delivers
it to bring a hay-knife and cut it into three equal
parts crosswise of the bale. This will be the
right length for nest building. Place the bale
on sacks to catch all the dried leaves, which the
pigeons are very fond of.

MIXING CONCRETE

All building and mixing of concrete on my
place I personally superintended. I asked for
a man, who understood carpentering, from the
Associated Charities, and with his help figured
on the lumber required and mixed the concrete.
I paid him $1.50 a day.

HOW I SHOULD BUILD 29

Laying concrete is fascinating work. In lin-
ing bath tanks it is best to drive short wire nails
or tacks into the sides to reinforce or hold up
the sides of the lining. Although I have had
concrete stick firmly to water-logged rough lum-
ber, I think it safer to reinforce. In mixing con-
crete for lining, I should advise five parts sand
to o"ne part cement, mixing thoroughly first, then
adding sufficient water to make a smooth paste.
After it begins to set, sprinkle with water. I
let mine stand ten or fourteen days before put-
ting it to use, sprinkling it daily; if the weather
was hot, several times a day.

Pigeons are great splashers and the ground
for a foot or two surrounding the tanks soon
becomes deep mud unless concrete floorings are
put beneath the tanks. I set my tanks on four
2x4 uprights, with a two-inch slant toward the
drain ditch ; the faucet being at the highest end.
The uprights were long enough to bring the tank
up pretty close to the mouth of the faucet and
were sunk six inches in the ground. Set the
tank on the* uprights and bore a hole for a
plug directly over the mouth of the drain ditch
before lining with cement. Dig out the ground
beneath, for at least a foot surrounding the
tank, four inches deep. Put in a two-inch layer
of coarse gravel and cover with a thin layer

30 PIGEON RAISING

of five-to-one cement. Let this stand forty-
eight hours, then fill up with two-to-one cement
and you will have a most satisfactory an up-to-
date pavement.

In my market stock pen, which carried as
many as 1,000 pigeons at one time, I had two
tanks 2x4 feet, and four inches deep, but the
water was constantly running.

My drain pipes were built of rough lumber
sunk in the ground on a gradual incline. As
they were not water-tight they leaked gallons
of water that might have been used advanta-
geously for irrigation. For a first-class pigeon
plant I should build them of concrete, or use
terra cotta piping, whichever happens to be the
cheapest.

Make the alfalfa patch gently sloping and
have the drain pipes come in at different places
at the top. This gives irrigation and fertiliza-
tion at the same time, for there is always ma-
nure in the bath tanks. These tanks must be
thoroughly cleansed and allowed to refill each
day. Although I did this faithfully every day
there always appeared a green scum that an-
noyed me exceedingly, until a kind old farmer
told me to put two or three large pebbles in
each tank. This kept the water clear as crys-
tal.

HOW I SHOULD BUILD 81

THE PIGEON-NET

One of the necessary implements of the
pigeon plant is a net for catching pigeons.
Take a stout broom-handle to a blacksmith and
get him to weld a thick iron hoop eighteen
inches in diameter and fit it into the handle.
Many people sew strong netting to this, but I
found netting injured the pigeons1 wings and
two flour sacks sewed together and gathered at
the bottom was much better. The pigeon raiser
soon becomes very expert in catching pigeons
on the fly.

COSTS AND PROFITS

CHAPTER III

COSTS AND PROFITS

THE home instinct is the thing that dis-
turbs the pigeon; one may take young
birds to any climate and with ordinarily
comfortable houses they will suit themselves to
the weather. Build according to the climate;
if close houses are required for other fowls,
build close houses for the pigeons, with win-
dows that can be closed, but never have the
nests face an opening of any kind. The plan
illustrated in Chapter II has been adapted to
a cold climate by closing the front, moving the
tiers of nests to the front, with a window be-
tween, and making the four-foot passageway
at the rear. This passage is- divided from the
tiers of nests by a wire-netting partition, in
which is a wire door between the tiers, oppo-
site the window, with the feed and water by
the side. In this passage was placed an air-
tight stove for heating in cold weather. There
were also sufficient windows in the north or
outer wall for light and ventilation, besides a

35

36 PIGEON RAISING

four-light window in each gable near the peak
and three covered ventilators in the roof.

The windows in the front or south wall were
opened each morning sufficiently to allow the
pigeons to pass into the fly-pen, and the man
whose building it was told me they would
break the ice in the bath tank, if it was not too
thick, in order to take a bath. Climate has
no effect on them if they have a comfortable
home. Such a house was built at an approxi-
mate cost of $3 to $5 a running foot. This is
complete with flying-pens and all inside fittings.
He set the tiers of nests wider apart than those
in my plan, which left a space of four feet.
His had a space of five feet, so there should
be ample room for a two-foot and thirty-inch
door into the passage, leaving two feet and six
inches for the feeder and drinking fountain.

He set the house a foot from the ground
and made the floor double of fitted boards
interlined with building paper. The outer
walls were also of fitted boards covered with
building paper and then clapboarded. The
roof was strongly shingled and the whole build-
ing had applied to the inside a thick coat of
crude oil and princess brown. He built a house
fifty-one feet long, which he divided into six
sections, with five fly-pens and a single passage-

COSTS AND PROFITS 37

way at the rear and the sixth section for a
grain and store room. At first he tried with-
out heat, and although the birds themselves
did well they did not breed as frequently as
when the chill was taken off the house; the
second winter he put in hot water pipes, which
heated more evenly than the air-tight stove.
This fifty-one foot house, which housed 340
birds, or 170 pairs, when completed with all
the fittings and two coats of paint on the out-
side cost $250.

If homer pigeons are selected for stock,
cheap boxes may be used for nests by piling
them up against the partitions, but the larger
breeds and their crosses must have large,
roomy nests or they will breed but a few times
a year.

The huge pigeon plant of Los Angeles has
nothing but boxes nailed up against posts and
piled up one on top of another and against
each other under crude sheds, sometimes with
no shed at all. But it is situated in a land of
sunshine and little rain; in spite of these advan-
tages, the statistics show that he does not re-
ceive the full value of his birds.

An old outhouse may frequently be reno-
vated into a habitable pigeon house at little
cost; the main points to be borne in mind are

38 PIGEON RAISING

whatever is built must be built permanently — »
time and money are both lost when mated pairs
are moved about — and face pigeon houses for
a sunny exposure.

With a closed house, such as I have just
described, all windows should be covered with
wire netting on the outside to prevent the escape
of the birds in case they get into the passage,
and all the windows should slide so they can
be opened to any extent desired. All doors,
both inside and outside, should be hung on
spring hinges. In very cold climates the birds
may be allowed to pass from the house to the
fly through an opening in each section, five
inches wide and six inches high, and rounded
at the top, with a lighting board six inches wide
in either side. Slides are arranged to close
these openings when it is desired to confine the
birds temporarily, in either fly-pen or house,
for the purpose of catching any one, or in
severe weather.

Perches may be added to the fly-pen by nail-
ing brackets to the posts four feet from the
ground and boards four inches wide are nailed
to them to furnish the pigeons a place to alight
and walk when not in flight. The window in
each section for the pigeons to fly through must
be closely covered on the inside with wire net-

COSTS AND PROFITS 39

ting, otherwise they will attempt to fly through
the glass and thereby injure themselves.

In starting a pigeon plant a person may
spend any amount of money he chooses, both
in stock and houses. It depends entirely on
the size and climate for the latter, and how
anxious the breeder is to dispose of his stock
for the former. I once sold a flock of seventy
five-months-old birds for ninety dollars because
the rainy season was coming on and I had no
time to attend properly to their housing; other-
wise they would have been worth triple that
amount to have kept them, because most of
them were thoroughbreds. If one is on the
lookout many good bargains in young birds
can be gotten from overstocked pigeon lofts in
the fall. Three-months-old pigeons of good
breeding (first crosses) usually sell at from
eight to twelve dollars per dozen. A man once
stocked his plant by buying the entire output
of squabs from my breeders' (first crosses) pen
for six months at five dollars per dozen. I
merely guaranteed to send him healthy, sound
squabs that could feed themselves. They
ranged from six to eight weeks old. He also
took three dozen thoroughbreds at ten dollars
per dozen. It was in the spring, and he was
extremely successful in raising them.

40 PIGEON RAISING

The prices of fancy-bred mated stock for-
merly ranged from five dollars to two hundred
and fifty a pair, the latter price being that of
prize birds, which has even gone as high as
$ 1,000; now, however, fine birds may be bought
at from four to fifteen dollars a pair. If a
person wishes to invest a large sum in a plant
and does not understand the business himself,
he should obtain the services of a well-recom-
mended expert to build the plant and get it in
good, systematic running order. Such a one
can be obtained for $100 a month and ex-
penses, foj£ he is well worth the money, for
after a plant is well established it is a simple
matter to run it. It is in the beginning that
many details which appear of minor consid-
eration to the novice become fatal mistakes if
neglected and much good money has been lost
through their neglect.

Barring mistakes, fire, thieves, and floods,
there is no such thing as luck with pigeons.
With the proper start these industrious, intel-
ligent little workers merrily perform their part,
if the breeder does his by giving them the
proper food unstintingly. Scant or improper
food and cleaning of the nests make empty
nests.

The best known market in the United States

COSTS AND PROFITS 41

is said to be New York. Prices quoted in the
newspapers are not to be relied on; the only
reliable source is to write to several retail mar-
kets and inquire prices they are willing to pay
for first-class squabs. The Western market is
steadily rising, but at no time has it gone to
the height of the New York market, although
squab raisers are meeting the demand for a
much larger squab than is produced for the
New York market.

My squabs weighed twenty-seven pounds to
the dozen and a half, compared to eight to
ten pounds to the dozen of the homer, the
Eastern standard market squab, yet the highest
price I ever received from the market was
$4.50. The demand for my squabs was unlim-
ited, yet the price never reached to a great
height. Whereas in New York the price leaps
to six and seven dollars per dozen.

Taking a mixed flock, as I did, it took me a
year to get it into shape, although after a
month or two it began to pay expenses. The
price of grain fluctuates so much that it is im-
possible to set a standard of expenses, but when
my birds began to pay dividends, despite the
fluctuating prices of grain and market prices of
squabs, they invariably evened up at the end of
the year. That is, when I paid fifty dollars a

42 PIGEON RAISING

month for feed I took in a hundred a month
from the market squabs. The market squabs
always paid for the maintenance of the breed-
ers and thoroughbreds, so that what I sold
from those two pens was clear gain, besides
those I reared for renewing and increasing
stock.

On account of ill-conditioned houses I re-
duced my flock from 1,100 to 750, and then
the expenses averaged $50 a month and the
600 market birds averaged $100 a month gross
receipts; the 150 breeding stock and thorough-
bred stock from $10 to $30 a month — some-
times more, sometimes less. Each bird of the
market stock brought in an average of $2.00
a year. My birds were all high-class birds,
held captive, and my plant was situated in a
mild climate.

Now comes an estimate of a man near Los
Angeles with 100,000 birds, which are of no
particular breed and mostly common, who takes
in gross receipts of $30,000 per annum. His
pigeons fly free and what he makes by their
foraging for some of their food (he feeds
wheat and screenings three times a day) he
loses by having some of his birds shot and not
being able to control his flock, consequently he
freely admits that he feeds several thousand

COSTS AND PROFITS 43

of non-producing birds. It is said that he mar-
kets 12,000 dozen squabs a year, which, if
true, is a very small return from 100,000 birds.
or 50,000 pairs, not being quite three squabs
a year for each pair. This mammoth pigeon
plant ships squabs to Los Angeles, Pasadena,
and as far north as Santa Barbara. He sells
them dressed, and as his pigeons are all white,
or nearly so, he must receive a good revenue
from the feathers, which are easily cured and
will sell for from forty to sixty cents a pound.

My birds were picked breeders and nested
from eight to ten times a year, producing from
4,500 to 5,000 squabs, which I marketed alive,
receiving from $2.25 to $4.50 per dozen.

It is simply impossible to count flying
pigeons. Even the best experts overestimate
the numbers. I was supposed to have had
2,000, but when I began to keep strict tally on
the nesting capacity of the house I discovered
I had but 1,100; so it may be with this mam-
moth pigeon ranch, and if they were caught
up by the dozen it would be found he had
just half the number. When there are 500
birds in motion and as many more peeping
their heads out of nests, they certainly have
the appearance of 3,000 or 4,000.

I paid $700 for my 1,100 birds and the

44 PIGEON RAISING

buildings, including fly-pens and feeders, cost
in the neighborhood of $450, which I consider
was very poorly expended; but, barring all mis-
takes and even if the plant, roughly estimated,
cost $1,200, it was a large interest on the
money. In fact, I know of very few invest-
ments that make such large returns on small
capital, and certainly none that has such light
and interesting work.

In breeding for market large numbers only
are profitable, and if the pigeon raiser selects
a straight breed for his stock it becomes a diffi-
cult problem to prevent inbreeding, which he
would not have to face if his flock was that of
crosses. In selecting stock, however, the pigeon
raiser must cater to the demand of the market
or he loses. The Western market prefers a
squab large enough to be served in halves, and
it is foolish for the pigeon raiser to try to raise
homer stock in the West because it is advocated
and demanded in the East. The Western res-
taurateur is willing to pay the marketman forty
or fifty cents for a bird he can sell in two por-
tions for eighty cents or a dollar. It is less
trouble to handle in the dressing and cooking
and is more pleasing to the eye of the consumer
than the small squab, but has precisely the same
delicacy of flavor. This is where so many fail

COSTS AND PROFITS 45

in not consulting the taste of the locality in
which they live.

There is a pigeon plant of 2,000 homers in
the vicinity of San Francisco which nets a clear
profit to the proprietor of $100 a month. He
employed an expert at $100 a month to go
over his stock and give him advice. The advice
was gradually to change his stock. Although
the expert pointed out that he might be receiv-
ing $2.25 per dozen a few weeks during the
summer months and the rest of the year on
up to $4.50, where he was getting $1.50 most
of the summer and never higher than $3.00 in
the winter, he stoutly maintained that it was
the valued bird of the East and he preferred
not to risk a new stock. So as he was satisfied
with the returns, there was nothing more to
be said, but he might have been receiving at
least $200 a month.

THE VARIOUS BREEDS

CHAPTER IV

THE VARIOUS BREEDS AND THEIR MARKINGS

DARWIN divides the pigeon family into
four grand divisions, but a noted fan-
cier more simply divides it into three:
the rock-pigeon, or wild bird; the domesticated,
duffer, or common pigeon; and the artificial, or
fancy pigeon. Several hundred varieties of the
last named class, of which one hundred and
fifty are named and recognized by fanciers,
have been produced under domestication, some
of them differing but little, others to an aston-
ishing degree, from the wild stock, many really
being almost monstrous. Yet, no matter how
far removed in appearance, they all carry the
same nature, habits, and primal structural points
of the parent stock.

The rock-pigeon, or original stock, receives
its name from inhabiting the rocky sea-coasts
and neighboring islands of Europe and North
Africa. It is rarely found inland except when
in search of food, when it is known to fly fifty
and seventy-five miles for grain. This, so Dar-

49

50 PIGEON RAISING

win states, is where the homing pigeon has got-
ten his power of endurance, fleetness, and the
wonderful feat of carrying his crop full of food
undigested through an entire day's flight, the
operation of digestion being stayed during flight
in order to feed the young at the nest.

The rock-pigeon also has a deep love of
home, a trait that has been carried down
through centuries of breeding in an unblem-
ished state to his latest fancy descendant.

It is supposed that pigeons were first domes-
ticated solely for the purpose of supplying the
table; at least an early record, more than 3,000
years B. C., signifies their use for that purpose
by the Egyptians; also in the Bible, Numbers
11:32, "homers" are spoken of as food for
the Israelites.

From this we should conclude that the hom-
ing variety was the first deviation from the
parent stock. He certainly comes nearer in ap-
pearance and is invariably used as the staple
rejuvenator of the other varieties when weak-
ened by too much inbreeding. No other species
of bird has been studied with the same degree
of care that he has. For centuries this breed
has been employed in war, in sport, and in many
scientific experiments. The reason he has been
so largely used for homing is due to the fact

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 51

that the home instinct is so strong a character-
istic that he will travel for hundreds of miles in
order to reach that beloved spot, one thousand
miles being the prize distance. Over distances
they can cover in a few hours they can make a
speed of fifty to ninety miles an hour. The
rate of flight for long distances is very low —
about two and a half days to cover 650 miles,
although there is a record of 611 miles being
made in twelve hours. When the maximum
distance of 1,000 miles is to be traversed the
average rate of flight is extremely low; from
nine to fourteen days is a splendid record. It
is not uncommon for birds to take fifteen, six-
teen, and twenty days for such a journey. So
many and severe are the trials sometimes that
these graceful little creatures have to contend
with on the journey that some of them return
from such a distance after months, or even
years. Only a few of the birds released 1,000
miles from home ever get back.

Many and pitiful are the stories told of the
hardships endured by these little message bear-
ers who many times meet their death through
the ignorant curiosity of human beings; as, for
example, the case of the tired little homer who,
bearing the last message of the balloonist, An-
dree, from the Arctic regions, lighting on the

52 PIGEON RAISING

mast of a ship and going to sleep witK his Head
beneath his wing, was idly shot by the captain
because he recognized it as a strange bird for
that latitude.

A much more humane use of the homing
pigeon is practiced in China and Spain, where
they are used in games. A good description of
those practiced in China can be found in the St.
Nicholas for February, 1900.

The homer is always clean-footed and trimly
built for flight. His feet and legs are red and
his beak is long and horn colored; these marks
also come from his early progenitors, the wild
pigeons of California having yellow legs and
beak. The homer's head should be well
shaped; it is said the homer has one-fourth
more brain-room than the common pigeon.

The pigeon fancier always looks to the eye
to determine his breeding; a flattened skull and
heavy eye-cere show a barb cross. If the eye
is dark, the head round, and beak short and
close fitting, there is a preponderance of the
owl type; but whatever the cross, the result
will be a persistent and intelligent home-seeker
that will fly later at night than any other type.
Another positive point in the homer is a pro-
truding eye-ball. The chest should be full and
broad. The tail of the pigeon acts as the rud-

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 53

der in flight and should be of good length.
This length is increased by pulling out the
feathers in the first year. This operation is
also thought to give strength to any young or
weak bird.

As homing pigeons circle round several times
high in the air immediately after being re-
leased, in order to get their bearings, it is a
generally accepted theory that they return by
means of visual landmarks. This is proved by
the birds being useless in dense fog, such as
they frequently have in England.

Trie homing pigeon is found in black, white,
red, silver, dun, and cream, but is more gener-
ally seen in soft blue with strongly marked
bars or checkers.

THE RUNT

The runt, a name given to it in sarcasm, is
the largest and most robust among pigeons.
The Roman runt, the oldest of known varie-
ties, next to the homer, had its origin near the
shores of the Mediterranean, where it had
long been classed as poultry. Its main point is
size, attaining a weight sometimes of nearly
three pounds and a wing spread of forty-two
inches from tip to tip. The runt colors are

54 PIGEON RAISING

black, white, red, dun, but are more highly
prized in silver or blue. It has a noble, ma-
jestic dignity combined with perfect proportion
in outlines, and with none of the grotesqueness
of the later fancies in pigeons; it stands alone
with the homer as nearest the parent stock ex-
cept in size.

HEN PIGEONS

From the Roman runt was bred the Leghorn
runt which, while of equal weight with the Ro-
man, is peculiar in standing high upon long,
bare legs, its neck curved like the letter S, and
its tail and wings carried high, these peculiari-
ties winning for it the name of uhen pigeon."
From this was bred, at Malta, a smaller bird,
yet carrying all the other points of the Leg-
horn hen, called the Maltese hen. This is the
bird so highly prized by epicures throughout
the West for crossing with the English runt for
table use. They come in all colors and splashes.

There is another variety of hen that is called
Hungarian hen. Their style of carriage is not
so exaggerated as that of the Maltese hen.
They come always beautifully marked in black
and white, red and white, yellow and white,
and blue and white.

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 55

"Pigeon Fancy" dates back some eighty
years in this country, and in that time an im-
mense amount of money has been invested in
perfecting the fancy and toy breeds which are
scattered broadcast over the land. Large sums
have been paid for African owls, pouters, and

racing homers.

v

THE POUTER

The pouter in appearance is farther away
from the parent stock (rock pigeon) than any
of the other varieties, yet by nature he has all
the characteristics. He is purely a fancy pig-
eon and easily stands at the head of what
breeding can accomplish. No bird has been
bred showing such a divergence from the orig-
inal type as the pouter, and therefore no bird
shows the amount of breeding which he does.
His distinct points are an extraordinary length
of limb, wonderful crop, great length of
feather, thin girth, and lightness in hand — no
highly bred pouter carries much flesh. His
legs should be closely covered with short,
soft feathers, which gradually increase in size
and quill to the toes where they spread upon
the ground at right angles with the foot. He
is gentle in disposition and easily tamed. It is

56 PIGEON RAISING

a comical sight to see a tall, inflated pouter
bowing and cavorting about a tiny tumbler.
The pouter has all the straight colors and also
carries superior markings when crossed with
white. There is a breed of pigmy pouters that
has clean legs and feet. The crops of both
of these varieties should be borne well up when
inflated.

THE FANTAIL

Next to the pouter the fantail is the most
extreme modification, or rather embellishment
of the parent stock, for its tail contains up to
thirty-six or even forty-two quill feathers in
place of the twelve originally present. It has
been highly bred in Scotland, England, and
America. This breed is seen both plain legged
and slightly booted. Besides their wonderful
tails, their chief points are a haughty carriage
of the head and swanlike bend of the neck.
They are bred in all solid colors, but are more
frequently seen in intense blacks and dazzling
whites. They are peculiar in structure as not
having the oil-gland.

THE CARRIER

Pigeon fanciers resent the confounding of

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 57

the homer and carrier pigeon, the latter being
considered by many of them as the king of
birds. His name comes from the regal car-
riage of his head and not from carrying mes-
sages as many novices suppose. In appearance
he is totally different from the homing pigeon,
having a much longer neck, large wattles aj
the base of his beak, and much cere about his
eyes. In order to have this cere the proper
whitish bloom, which is one of the most valued
points of the carrier, and not tinged with pink,
the fancier keeps his birds secluded from the
deteriorating influences of sun and outdoor air.
This is a most unnatural life for a pigeon and
when followed makes the birds delicate and
susceptible to disease. Exposure to the at-
mosphere also shrinks the cere. These points
take five years at least to mature, though three
years will determine their character.

The carrier has long been highly bred in
England and greatly esteemed there. The colors
of the carreir are solid black, blue, and white.
The black by contrast brings out the bloom of
his wattles to much better effect than the other
two.

THE BARB

Although the barb is considered to be the

58 PIGEON RAISING

original of the carrier, it is a much smaller
bird and has a short neck, broad breast, and
broad flat head; wattles on beak and about the
eye not so prominent, and more highly colored
than the carrier; beak shorter. Both these
breeds are of ancient lineage. The barb was
perfected in Barbary. The eye wattles ma-
ture in the third year, and should be of equal
breadth, the thickest at the outer edge, the eye
standing out in the center like the hub of a
wheel. His colors are red, silver, dun, white,
and black.

THE JACOBIN

The jacobin is of continental origin, and has
its name from the fancied resemblance, in the
hooded white head, to the cowl and shaven
head of the friar. The bird is small in body,
the loose, silky feathering giving it a size to
which its weight does not correspond. The
legs and feet are clean. The difficult points in
breeding are the adornings of the head, the
lower part of which closely resemble a muffler;
these feathers grow in two directions. The
colors are red, silver, black, white, and blue.

THE TRUMPETER

The trumpeter is divided into the toy and

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 59

Russian. The former was the toy of the Ger-
man fancier who bred him in all colors, and in
splashes, checkers, and solids; he put bars on
the wings, changed the color of the chest, the
rose, and boots, giving as many names as he
could produce varieties.

The Russian, on the contrary, is only to be
found in straight black, or white. It is v^ry
" high-class " in the difficulties of breeding its
points of rose, crest, and foot-feathers. The
rose is the tuft of feathers covering the head
from the base of the beak to the crest of the
back, overhanging the eyes so that the bird can
only see what is beneath it. The feathers must
diverge from the center regularly and lie
smoothly. The crest is at the back and extends
from eye to eye.

The half-blinded condition of the bird and
its excessive footfeathering combine to give it
a groping character and a heavy appearance.
The intense black plumage shows beautiful
glints in the sunlight. They were first taken
into England fifty years ago. The bird re-
ceives its name from the peculiar and long-con-
tinued sound of its cooing.

THE OWL AND TURBIT

The owls stand foremost among the toy

60 PIGEON RAISING

breeds. The finest specimens weigh but from
five to eight ounces each. They were first
brought from Tunis, Africa. The owls, tur-
bits, and orientals make up the frilled varie-
ties. In all there is a general resemblance in
short, plump body, short, stout beak, and the
frill of curled feathers upon the breast. More
importance is given to the shape of the head
and beak than to the frill. The feathers at the
back of the turbit head are sometimes inverted
or curled upwards, forming the point or shell
crest, whereas the owl head is always un-
adorned, plain.

The turbit is in all colors and may be of one
throughout, or with body white and wings or
tail colored. The owl-turbit is a cross of the
turbit and owl, and in a measure resembles
both.

THE ORIENTALS

The orientals are considered by some the
gems of the fancy, combining as they do the
grace of the owl-pigeon with a peculiarly rich
plumage. The varieties have their origin in
Turkey, and the characteristic white spot upon
the tail, found in no other variety, is considered
due to their ancestor, the rock-pigeon, the only

THE VARIOUS BREEDS, 61

others thus marked. The varieties of this
class are the turbiteen, the blondinette, and the
satinette. The colors of the orientals are pe-
cular to them, being pinkish brown, orange, or
sulphur, seal brown, purplish black, and very
light blue.

THE ARCHANGEL

The archangel has its name from arc-en-ciel,
the rainbow, given with reference to its exceed-
ingly rich-colored and iridescent plumage.
This variety was introduced into England from
the continent early in the I9th century.

THE NUN AND PRIEST

The nun, priest, and others are the toys. All
are the result of the German breeder's skill
and the tendency of the duffer stock, from
which they were bred, to variation. This toy
fancy had its origin in Germany, where it is
carried to the greatest perfection. The object
in it is to combine the color and marking to
produce certain effects, and to make the colors
retain their brilliancy and depth. The names
given to the varieties refer to a fancied resem-
blance in the marking.

62 PIGEON RAISING

THE TUMBLER

Tumblers are prolific breeders and excellent
parents, but are extremely small, so are exclu-
sively a fancy pigeon. The tumbler's colors
are bronze, black, buff, and also come in these
colors mottled. In captivity tumblers cannot
show off their wonderful tumbling feats,
though there is a variety called "parlor tum-
blers " that can fly only six inches from the
ground and in this attempt turn a complete
double somersault. The tumbler is an amiable
little fellow who is very fond of playing pranks
on larger pigeons.

THE DRAGOON

The dragoon is a large bird, much resembling
the homer with which it is frequently crossed
for market squabs. It comes in all the homer
colors and has clean legs and feet. Its princi-
pal distinguishing points from the homer are
general size, heavy build, and heavy wattles at
the base of beak and pronounced eye-cere.

THE DUCHESSE

The duchesse is a beautiful bird with some-

THE VARIOUS BREEDS 63

thing of the build of the dragoon without the
heavy cere or wattles but heavily booted with
long feathers. It is principally seen in white.
Many breeders consider them poor squab feed-
ers, but I have not found them so, the feath-
ered feet being the principal objection to them
for market squabs.

NATURE AND HABITS

CHAPTER V

THE NATURE AND HABITS OF HIGH-BRED
PIGEONS

^

I HAVE alluded to the extreme sensitive-
ness of the high-bred pigeon. It was my
pleasure to sit for hours at a time on a
camp stool in my pigeon yards and study the
faces and motions of my feathered beauties. I
found them capable of expressing all the emo-
tions of human beings; love, hatred, forgive-
ness, sympathy, horror, disdain, remorse, char-
ity, jealousy, avarice, vanity, tenderness, last-
ing affection, fickleness, domesticity, a love of
gadding and gossip, dignity and reticence, sar-
casm, and a love of playing jokes on one an-
other;— yes, and pigeons laugh at, and enjoy
>a good joke as much as anybody, — and all of
these emotions to an astonishing degree of de-
velopment.

They have one universal trait, however, —
cleanliness. They are the daintiest, cleanest of
God's creatures, constantly bathing and preen-
ing their feathers.

67

68 PIGEON RAISING

Their nests look dirty and it is certainly in-
congruous to see a dainty, beautifully plumed
pigeon sitting on a manure caked nest. Pigeon
manure cannot, however, be as uncleanly as it
looks and instinct certainly tells the pigeon it
is not unhealthy for the young, else why should
they select manure covered nests? To prove
its cleansing properties, examine a manure cov-
ered roof after a drenching rain — it looks as
though it had been scoured with soap and
water.

Look over the nests daily to see if there are
any dead squabs to be removed, but leave the
nests alone; don't disturb your breeders by
cleaning. If the nests are built up too high,
take off the top layers, otherwise, leave them
alone. They know best.

Even in the wild state the pigeon is monoga-
mous and mates for life, but when confined
where food is plentiful and he does not have to
forage for each meal, the love of the male for
home duties and the care of the young will
sometimes lead him to maintain two mates,
when his efforts to do double duty during the
time of incubation and feeding will be unremit-
ting and amusing. I had a tiny bronze tumbler
that invariably maintained two mates through-
out the year. This is the only case that came

NATURE AND HABITS 69

under my notice, however, during my five years'
experience with pigeons.

To illustrate the lasting affection of a pig-
eon, I will tell of a beautiful crested red runt I
once owned. His mate was a little black
homer, but, as I wished him mated to another
runt or a Maltese hen pigeon, I gladly seized
an opportunity to sell the homer one day.

I kept him for two years and although I
placed him in a pen with beautiful young runts
and hens, he refused to take another mate. He
lived quietly in his nests and dignifiedly ate,
bathed, preened his feathers, sunned himself,
and took his jumping and flying exercises, but
refused to mate again. He was true to his first
love.

I finally sold him to a pigeon breeder who se-
cretly laughed at my romance. Two years
later he wrote me with an apology that my
crested beauty had died as he had lived, a dig-
nified example of lasting affection. I never
heard whether or not his mate was equally as
true.

It is next to impossible to distinguish the
male from the female as they fly about the
pens. The only really infallible way is to note
when the male drives the female to her nest,
or, if they are nesting, to note by the time of

70 PIGEON RAISING

day; for when there are eggs or young squabs,
the male goes on the nest about ten in the morn-
ing and remains until four in the afternoon,
when the female goes on and remains until re-
lieved by the male the following morning at
ten.

These habits are sure and regular as clock
work, and I have never known pigeon experts
use any other means of securing a mated pair.
This fact will sometimes cause pigeon raisers
to make blunders as in the following incident:

One morning there was great commotion in
the market pen. A pigeon was wildly flying
about from nest to nest pecking at the half-
grown squabs in a frenzy. Thinking, of course,
the bird was a bad-tempered bachelor, I chased
him out of the house, caught him with a net,
and threw him rather roughly into the bachelor
pen.

He lit on the roof of the little house among
a dozen or more bachelors. The poor thing
crouched down in seeming agony, and, suppos-
ing I had unwittingly injured it, I watched a
moment before I noticed the faces of the bach-
elors. Instead of bowing and cavorting around
in sarcastic welcome as they usually did when I
added a new member to their pen, they stood
silent and awe-stricken, with horror and help-

NATURE AND HABITS 71

less sympathy vividly depicted on their expres-
sive faces.

Turning again to the subject of this unusual
emotion, I saw her crouch, for it indeed proved
to be a female, and rise high on Her feet sev-
eral times in great agony, and then with a final
effort, an egg rolled out and down the sloping
roof, crashing on the cement below.

What I had supposed to be a bachelor was
an eggbound female, the only case, so far as I
know, that occurred during my experience in
pigeon raising. But I have heard that they
suffer untold agony. Doubtless, my rough
treatment gave her ultimate relief. It was cu-
rious, however, that the bachelors should have
recognized her trouble and sympathized with
her, and in so doing had attracted my attention
to her. I gently caught her with my hand and
placed her alone in a box with food and water
for a few hours, then let her loose, when she
seemed recovered, and flew happily to her
nest where her mate greeted her lovingly.

Many times pigeons are extremely kind and
charitable to one another. Once one of my fe-
male runts died, leaving a pair of featherless
squabs, and the feeding and hovering devolved
entirely on the widowed father. Just above
his nests lived a pair of homers with squabs of

72 PIGEON RAISING

the same age. These homers came down daily
and assisted the bereaved father to feed and
hover his little ones until they were old enough
to leave the nest.

Mr. Bronze Tumbler had one of his estab-
lishments in one side of an orange box, while
the Newlyweds were setting up housekeeping
on the other side. In the partition between was
a large knot-hole through which Bronze Tum-
bler watched the proceedings of the young
couple while he hovered his week-old squabs.
As the young couple flew back and forth with
straws, Mr. Bronze, with a mischievous look
on his comical little face, drew straw after
straw through the knot-hole until he was well-
nigh buried in loot. His neighbors opposite
seeing what he was up to telegraphed the news
down the line, and everybody that was off duty
flew to see the fun, while those attending to
eggs or squabs craned their heads out of the
nests to hear the chattering.

Then the little bride, coming in to settle her
furniture, became cognizant of the cruel joke
that had been played upon them and was at
once the picture of hurt dejection; I really felt
like offering her my handkerchief to wipe away
her tears, for the other pigeons were having no
end of amusement at her expense. In flies Mr,

NATURE AND HABITS 73

Newlywed and takes in the situation at a glance,
and immediately prepares for war. Little
Tumbler nimbly extricates himself from straws
and squabs and quickly flies out of the window,
the bridegroom in hot pursuit.

Then up steps Mr. Pouter in all the gallant
grandeur of inflated crop to offer sympathy to
the bride. Back comes Mr. N. from a fruitless
search and finds the officious pouter neatly bal-
ancing himself on the bride's threshold while
he cooes condolingly. This is too much I The
battle royal begins. Down on the floor they
tumble where they bat at each other with out-
spread wings, the pouter towering high with
his superior height and spindling legs. Through
the entire length of the loo-foot house heads
are poked out from nests piled up high on
either side, while the little bride demurely sets
to work drawing the stolen straws back through
the knot-hole, and the mischievous Mr. Tum-
bler creeps back to his squabs.

If pigeons have a sufficient number of roomy,
comfortable nests and are well-fed, they will
begin to lay as soon as their squabs get their
feathers. They are, however, like human
beings and have likes and dislikes. Some
prefer to nest in dark, cold corners, or on the
floor, while others will breed only if they can

74 PIGEON RAISING

obtain a high dry nest where a few rays of sun-
shine can reach.

I had some pigeons nesting in a dark corner
of the pigeon house, all first-class breeders ex-
cept one pair, and they never had squabs. I
took this pair out and placed them in a small
pen and open house where the sun reached
their nests the first thing in the morning. They
became my finest breeders. I always found it
profitable to humor their whims.

It is a laughable sight to see the male driv-
ing the female to her nest. He pecks at her
and chases her all over the house and yard un-
til she finally gives in and settles down on her
nest, when he becomes all devoted attention and
brings extra nesting material to make her com-
fortable. Then she, in a forgiving spirit, grate-
fully kisses him and tucks the straws beneath
her.

The feeding of squabs by their parents is the
most marvelous thing in nature.

I have stated that the male takes his regular
turn on tire nest. As the time approaches for
the eggs to hatch, a thin watery substance
torms in the crops of both parents which is
called pigeon milk, and this they begin feeding
to their young after they are a few hours old.
Gradually the milk becomes less digested until,

NATURE AND HABITS 75

by the time the squabs are fully feathered, it is
whole grain soaked in water. A pigeon always
eats all he can, then fills his crop with water.

As soon as it is time for the milk to form
for the new babies, the parents drive the older
ones off the nest to shift for themselves, if they
have not already gone of their own accorok. It
is then time for the breeder to remove them
to a youngster pen, at the same time pulling out
their tail feathers, on the principle, I suppose,
of cutting off a child's hair to increase its size
and strength. From the market pen they are
shipped before they are old enough to leave
the nest — between three and four weeks old.

The milk flows easily from the parent's bill
into that of the baby squab as she or he hovers
it, but when it becomes less digested it requires
much labor and the parent is obliged to stand.
That is the reason the nests should be large,
with a wide platform before them, otherwise
they will become discouraged and will not
breed, especially the English runt, which is the
largest known pigeon. Under proper condi-
tions I have found the runt to be as prolific a
breeder as the homer and hen pigeons.

Pigeons have the reputation of eating off
their heads, but the pigeon raiser must take
into consideration that he is feeding four in-

76 PIGEON RAISING

stead of two. The exertion is so great in feed-
ing their young that the parents should not be
obliged to go far for food and water, and I
have found that they do better with small fly-
pens.

I placed six pairs in a roomy house with a
fly-pen six by ten for one year. In that year I
took out of that pen 120 healthy, strong squabs
and the parents were in prime condition.

It is cruel and unprofitable to be rough and
unkind to breeding pigeons. I should just as
soon maltreat a nursing mother. If the par-
ents are frightened while they are with milk it
injures the baby squabs. At the time of the
great earthquake in 1906 I lost every baby
squab on my place.

I always employed gentle, quiet men to work
on my place. Occasionally you can find a suit-
able boy, but I prefer a gentle, kindly old man,
a man, perhaps, that can be gotten at the poor-
house, who is glad to come for a comfortable
living and ten dollars a month, and enjoys pot-
tering about the pigeons and place. The work
is really not heavy enough for an able-bodied
man, and such a one is apt to be impatient and
too quick in moving among nesting pigeons.

If for any reason the pigeons in milk lose
their squabs, the pigeon raiser must immedi-

NATURE AND HABITS 77

ately take a squab of the same age from an-
other nest and give it to them. If they do not
feed off the milk it injures them. I always went
through my houses every morning and exam-
ined each nest. They knew and loved me and
had confidence that I would not injure them.

BREEDING

CHAPTER VI

BREEDING

V

•>

THE pigeon fancier is an artist among
breeders and his work of producing liv-
ing, highly colored models of beauty is
the finished work of the painter. His object in
breeding is different from that of most breed-
ers in being solely to maintain the fancy points
of color and outline, with no reference to util-
ity. His material is the most impressionable,
known, and being wholly artificial, is as un-
stable. Through all the difficulties of fancy
breeding it must be remembered that the male
influences the external points and the female,
the size, structure, and constitution. As for in-
stance, if a carrier cock were mated to a runt
female, their squabs would have the carrier's
wattles and eye-cere but the runt size, struc-
ture, and constitution. Or if the cock was a
jacobin, the squabs would shine forth in all the
glories of muffler and hood. The breeder
should select his ideal and work until he gains
his point.

81

82 PIGEON RAISING

The tendency of all colors is to pale, and in
order to enrich or maintain them, birds of dif-
ferent colors must be bred together. As a
rule, in birds of the same blood, the young fol-
low in color and marking the parent of the
same sex, while in matings of different colors
and of different strains the young follow the
color and marking of the opposite sex.

Some simple rules for breeding for color are :
black and red produce the same colors solid,
but intensified; blue and silver produce the
same colors solid, but intensified; black and sil-
ver, dun; white is splashed or blotted with
whatever it is blended; to obtain rainbow, start
with white and blend successively with red,
blue, and silver until the proper scintillating ef-
fects are obtained. Blotches may be the first
results, but persevere, using one of the three
colors with each generation until the desired
effect is reached. It is well worth the trial.
The black bars so highly prized in the mark-
ings of modern blues come direct from their
wild projenitors.

In breeding for fancy, or thoroughbred,
stock a strict system of banding must be ad-
hered to. To entirely control his future work-
ings the breeder should band his squabs while
in the nest, slipping a closed band over one foot

BREEDING 83

of each squab, while it is soft and pliable (five
days old), marked with a number, thus: 270,
271. Then enter these numbers in a record
book, with the date, under the number of the
nest in which the squabs were hatched. The
numbers are the nest-mate numbers. When
the squabs are grown into pigeons the breeder
adds to his record the color, marking and sex,
thus:

n. 24— ps. 125 & 130, ns. 7 & 10.
Jan. 1913. 270—5. b. cock
271 — b. b. hen
Mar. " 272 — b. b. hen

This means nest 24, parents 125 and 130
from nests 7 and 10. Date of hatch, January,
1913. 270 and 271 are nest-mates (in fact all
squabs from ps. 125 & 130 are nest-mates) —
the cock being silver-barred and the hen blue-
barred. March, 1913, 272, a blue-barred hen,
was the only occupant of nest 24.

As pigeons never change their nests, by
means of this record book the breeder can trace
back the genealogy of a pigeon for generations.
If one of the parents dies and a new mate is
taken, the breeder simply draws a line beneath
the last hatch and starts anew, thus:

n. 24— ps. 125 & 200, ns. 7 & 40.

84 PIGEON RAISING

By looking up nests 7 and 40 the breeder can
in a few moments tell who 125 and 200 are
and their colors, marking, and ages, and so on
as long as the book stands.

With regard to the age of breeding pigeons,
cocks have been known to breed healthy, strong
squabs at fifteen years of age, but, of course,
they were mated to young hens.

On no account allow nest-mates to mate,
though this never occurs if there are other birds
to choose from.

Although it is well to allow birds to choose
their own mates ordinarily, the breeder re-
quires the use of a mating coop when he is de-
sirous of making special points in breeding.
This coop has two compartments with a remov-
able wire partition through which the birds
may see each other. Leave them for a day or
two and if they appear friendly and the cock is
doing everything he can to fascinate the hen,
remove the partition and leave them until the
hen returns the cock's caresses, then turn them
into the pen intended for them. Such a coop is
three feet long, two feet wide, and two feet
high.

Black meat squabs are looked upon as a
blemish on the breeder's skill, and the moment
one is discovered it is expelled and his progeni-

BREEDING 85

tors are looked up at once. They come from
no particular breed or color, but from in-
breeding.

The pigeon is unique among the feathered
creation in the positive similarity of the sexes,
the habits during incubation, the provision for,
and manner of, feeding the young, the helpless
and crude condition of the young when it leaves
the shell, and its rapid development and early
maturity. In structural points there are also
peculiar differences. The long intestine is of
greater length than in any other bird, some va-
rieties lack the oil-gland, while all are without
the gall-bladder. This latter deficiency in its
digestive make-up accounts for the inordinate
desire for salt, characteristic of no other bird,
which must be considered a craving for an ab-
solute essential to its healthful existence. The
dangers from the lack of a plentiful supply of
salt I have explained in another chapter.

Another peculiar feature of the pigeon is
that the shafts of his feathers are short and
downless with but slight hold on the skin. All
varieties shed a peculiar dust from the plumage
in greater or less quantities, so that any place
they occupy will in time be covered with a
peculiar bloom called pigeon dust.

As the fancy breeder breeds for perfection,

86 PIGEON RAISING

after whatever model he selects, he does not
allow his birds to breed more than once or
twice a year, so that the accumulated strength
of the parents may go into the young; this is
especially true in breeding record homers. For
market stock it is different. I believe young
pigeons of any of the various breeds I have
here mentioned can be taken and, giving them
proper conditions, first-class breeders can be
made from them. In selecting breeds for mar-
ket, however, the breeder must conform to the
requirements of the market. Birds too closely
bred will make poor breeders.

Squabs that are slow to learn to eat may be
fattened and taught to eat by hand feeding
with hemp and millet seed slightly moistened
with salted water and a little fine gravel or grit.
Some breeders blow in soft food through a
syringe into the squab's crop. I have never
tried it, but have heard it is constantly done in
Europe. There are even professional squab-
feeders.

BREEDING FOR MARKET

My experience ran over many known breeds
of pigeons and, for health, strength, size,
shape, prolific breeders, and market value, 1

BREEDING 87

give the preference to the runt-Maltese hen
crosses. For breeders, squabs of the first cross;
for market, squabs of the second cross.

For instance, I put my young thoroughbred
stock, which was thoroughbred Maltese hens
and English runts, in a pen by themselves and
allowed them to choose their own mates. ^fter
I saw that they were well mated — good breed-
ers— I took the runts that were mated with
runts and hen pigeons that were mated with hen
pigeons and placed them back in the thorough-
bred pens. The runts and hen pigeons that
were mated together I placed in the breeders'
pen. The young stock from the breeders' pen
was placed in a pen by itself, and when they
paired and the pairs were found to be good
breeders they were placed in the market pen.
One can readily see that by this method the
stock is constantly increasing and there is abso-
lutely no danger of inbreeding in the breeder
and market stock pens, a watch only having to
be kept on the thoroughbred pens which have
only a few dozen in each.

Occasionally, you will find birds that are
barren, or that lay infertile eggs. Do not dis-
card these birds as they are invaluable as nur-
sery maids. Put them in a pen by themselves
and give them the eggs from either some finq

88 PIGEON RAISING

breeders, or birds that are inferior parents, to
raise. I have also given them half-grown
squabs to feed after I had sold off their par-
ents, or young squabs that were being raised
for breeders that were slow about learning to
eat.

Watch for the female nursery maid to retire
to her nest to try to lay. After a few hours, or,
perhaps, the next day, cautiously slip in a
freshly laid egg of some other pigeon and a
day or two later slip in another. I have even
placed two at once ond the foster-mother did
not appear to know the difference. She may
fly off the nest each time, but as soon as you are
gone she will return and there will be great re-
joicing in the little household at finding the egg.
Like childless human beings, these nursery
maids are always glad to take young squabs to
feed or eggs to hatch, and, although they are
incapable of reproducing themselves, the pig-
eon milk forms in their crops for other pigeons'
squabs. By taking one or two pairs of eggs a
year from good breeders you obtain more
squabs without giving the breeders the exhaus-
tive work of raising and feeding. My nursery
maids were a most successful part of my pigeon
plant. I raised hundreds of extra squabs in
this way, and sometimes squabs that would oth-

BREEDING 89

erwise have died. It requires about seventeen
days for pigeon eggs to hatch.

In selling mated pairs it must be remem-
bered not to sell those in milk, as there is a
chance of injuring the pigeons so that they will
never breed again.

Pigeon raisers, to be successful, must he gen-
tle and kindly disposed, willing to spend "many
hours in studying their charges. I learned to
recognize every pigeon in my flock. Every
face seemed to have a different expression, in
which I could read their joys and sorrows.

It is indeed a thankless employment selling
pigeons for breeding. As I have already stated
it is purely optional with pigeons whether they
breed or not.

It is always a lottery when you sell mated
pairs whether they will be happy in their new
quarters and willing to raise a family. But this
the pigeon raiser cannot make the buyer believe
or understand, and if his mated pairs do not set
to work nest-building he immediately accuses
the seller of rank deception. Whereas, the
fault may lie entirely with his own manage-
ment and treatment of his purchase, or the
birds may be afflicted with incurable homesick-
ness for their friends and surroundings. This
Js the reason I invariably advise the purchase

90 PIGEON RAISING

of youngsters in order that they may be allowed
to grow up together and become attached to
their surroundings. The results are surer and
more satisfactory, even if one does get a few
odd ones; for, as it is difficult to recognize the
old ones apart, it is impossible to distinguish
between the male and female when they are
young.

I have shipped pigeons to British Columbia
and Honolulu with the greatest success and
failed utterly in those I have sold within a few
miles. In my own experience I have had the
greatest success in buying outside stock, but, al-
though my houses were not up-to-date, the plant
was large and sunny and the inhabitants so nu-
merous and happy that newcomers did not feel
like moping.

A lady, one day, selected a beautiful pair of
silver runts to be sent to her home in Victoria,
B. C. She asked me not to ship them for ten
days as she wished to return and make ready
for them. It was decided that I should start
them on their journey on the morning of April
lyth. It was in the year 1906.

I put them in a strong, roomy box, well
sanded with white sand, and I nailed on the in-
side a feed box, salted grit box, and water cup
with an attached funnel for refilling, and se*

BREEDING 91

curely tied a strong muslin sack of assorted
grain to the slats on top. The birds and their
equipment were the admiration of all that saw
them. But the expressman, after asserting that
it would take but three days to reach their des-
tination, laughingly said I had supplied them
with enough grain for a three weeks' jounney.

The next morning at five o'clock came' the
terrible earthquake of April i8th, 1906. Later
in the day, after I had summed up my com-
paratively few losses, I congratulated myself on
having gotten the silver runts off early the pre-
vious day, believing they were then well on
their journey. Three weeks later I received a
letter from the lady saying the birds had just
arrived but in excellent condition. They had
been detained in Oakland over the night of the
1 7th, and for much longer after the i8th, and,
finally, were shipped by sea. It was most for-
tunate that they had gotten out of San Fran-
cisco, otherwise, they must have perished in the
fire that immediately followed the earthquake.

DISEASE AND FEEDING

CHAPTER VII

DISEASE AND FEEDING

r

WITH ordinary humane attention the
pigeon in captivity is a remarkably
healthy bird. I gave my birds good,
pure running water and the best of feed and,
although I left the nests alone, merely cleaning
the floors, I never had that much dreaded dis-
ease, canker, after I once got my flock well
regulated as to breeding. This disease, I be-
lieve, comes from inbreeding and, likely, from
improper food and water, but never from ex-
terior contact with the manure, which is too
strong with ammonia to be uncleanly or un-
healthy.

Some pigeon raisers think canker comes
from close confinement and la ck ~b f ex*eTci§e7 "
but that cannot be as some of my fly-pens were
extremely small. Pigeons are natural athletes
and, in close confinement, regularly go through
a sort of physical culture exercise. It is a beau-
tiful sight to see them, many times resembling
graceful ballet dancers in the butterfly dance.

95

06 PIGEON RAISING

I have seen a hundred or more practicing these
exercises at the same time.

Another beautiful sight is to see them in a
first shower. Five or six hundred of my birds
at a time would lie first on one side and then on
the other on the ground, or roof, with first one
wing and then the other raised high to catch the
first drops of a storm. It is indeed a sight
worth witnessing.

As they are almost amphibious, storms do
not prevent them from taking their regular ex-
ercise. Many times I have marketed fine,
healthy squabs from wet, soggy nests because
of their parents' love of nesting on the floor
where storms from the south could reach them.

The only other disease I have had experi-
ence with is "going light." The pigeon loses
all flesh and becomes as light in weight as his
own feathers. The preventive of this is simple.
Of course, a plentiful supply of good feed and
water is understood. Besides, keep grit, shells,
and salty water constantly before them. The
free pigeon searches until he finds them; the
imprisoned pigeon is dependent on his care-
taker for his supply of these chief essentials to
his diet. Without them, he loses all appetite
and goes into a decline.

Fill a small dish half full with rock-salt and

DISEASE AND FEEDING 97

fill it up with water, stirring it well. They will
drink the water and keep well. I usually sim-
plified matters by pouring a strong solution of
rock-salt over the grit. Undissolved salt, salt
in grain, is not good for them, they eat too
much and I have known them to die almost im-
mediately.

Broken oyster shells and grit, the latter with
a strong solution of salt poured over it, should
be kept in dishes convenient for them. I kept
mine in the yard near the feeders. If the con-
tents of these dishes become soiled with ma-
nure, wash them off and pour fresh salty water
over the grit. I kept rock-salt in solution con-
stantly on hand, adding more as it dissolved.

Pigeons never over-eat themselves, and I
should as soon stint the food supply of a nurs-
ing mother as a breeding pigeon. If you do
not give them good and varied food, they have
their revenge by giving you empty nests. Pig-
eons also never eat unclean food. If swill or
scraps are thrown into a pigeon yard the pig-
eons will look at it in wonder but never touch
it. They are even chary of taking up with a
new variety of grain, but they will never touch
filth of any kind, while the highest bred chicken
will greedily devour the foulest kind of filth
from both animals and humans.

98 PIGEON RAISING

A squab never has anything but the cleanest
of food which makes him far better food for
an invalid or aged person. For this reason
doctors and nurses appreciate them as valuable
rejuvenators for building up weak invalids.

Keep the cheapest feed constantly before
them in feeders and feed the more expensive
twice a day, in the morning when the female
comes off her long night's vigil, and in the aft-
ernoon after the male comes off. Be regular
and prompt and they will know what to expect;
then the bird on the nest will not fly off for a
change of diet thus chilling babies or eggs, or
one parent will not have all the dainties while
the other has cheap feed.

At the time of my experience (from 1903
to 1908) I found chevalier barley the cheap-
est. I also found it the most beneficial.
Bearded barley is not so good and is quite as
expensive in the end, as the heads are not so
full and perfect and you are paying for a lot
of weight in beards; besides, pigeons do not
care for it.

Barley keeps them lively and well without
making them too fat. It is an all-around-the-
year feed, and if the pigeon breeder has a place
to store it, it is a good plan to buy in a year's
supply when the crop first comes in.

DISEASE AND FEEDING 99

Egyptian corn is the next safe and staple
pigeon grain for all the year round, but is more
expensive. Through the summer months I fed
it twice daily, one day with Canadian peas and
next day with red wheat. In the winter I fed
it every other day with peas, and the other
days I fed red wheat with whole Indian corh,
which is too heating for summer. There is a
frightful waste in cracked corn. Give pigeons
plenty of grit and salty water and they can
easily digest the large kernels.

I always kept hemp and millet seeds to feed
one or twice a week to the youngsters I was
raising for breeders. They are the most ex-
pensive grains, but a sack of each lasts for a
long time with careful feeding.

An alfalfa patch materially cuts down the
grain bill by being a beneficial food and it is
likewise useful for nesting material. I had a
patch forty-six by thirty-five feet, with two
faucets and a drain pipe from the main pigeon
pen for irrigation. With a sickle I cut two
sacks full, that is, two sacks laid on the ground
and piled up as high as I could carry them with-
out spilling, every morning all the year round,
when it was not raining. By the time I had
reached the lower end of the patch, the upper
end was ready to cut. I scattered it on the

100 PIGEON RAISING

ground in different pens and the pigeons greed-
ily ate off the leaves and tender part, leaving the
stalks to dry for nesting material.

When raising pigeons wholesale, grain must
be bought wholesale; that is, buy direct from
wholesale grain dealers and they will buy back
the sacks at highest figures ; for instance, when
junkmen and retail merchants offer two and a
half or three cents a piece, the wholesale grain
dealers will give five cents straight. My grain
sacks always paid for the grit, shells, and rock-
salt I used. I have dealt with both retail and
wholesale dealers so I know the difference in
prices for I have bought tons and tons of
grain.

I made out a list of the grains I required
through the year, and went to the wholesale
grain dealers and selected the one that gave me
the best terms, was willing to secure the kinds
of grain I needed, and would deliver it at my
place. I had the same dealer for over four
years. He sent long distances for red wheat
and peas for me, always gave me the best
quality at the lowest figures he could, and was
ever ready and willing to take back any grain
that was not up to the required standard. In
return for this square dealing I recommended
him to people far and near.

An easy way to test the quality of a sack

DISEASE AND FEEDING 161

of grain without opening it is to run a long pen-
cil in the meshes of the sack in several places.
Loose kernels will flow out from the center of
the sack and thus the inner contents can be
closely examined.

There is a great deal written by Eastern
pigeon men about the sale of the manure pay-
ing the grain bills. I tried in every direction
and for every purpose to sell the tons of manure
that were scraped from my houses and yards,
but was never able to sell a penny's worth. It
was only through influence and scientific dem-
onstration that I was enabled to give it away to
a hospital farm as a fertilizer.

From my observation of the orchards in
the surrounding country and my own experi-
ments with two trees. I believe fruit trees re-
quire as much and as careful feeding as breeding
pigeons. It seems cruel to cull crop afer crop
from trees and vineyard without once renewing
the soil. This has been done continually with
the result that in a few years the orchards have
become exhausted. Would it not be more
profitable to spread the ground with manure as
soon as each crop is gathered and let the rains
gradually wash the nourishment into the soil?
Trees thus treated do not require irrigation
and respond gratefully with abundant and never
failing crops.

MARKETING, KILLING, AND
CURING FEATHERS

CHAPTER VIII

MARKETING, KILLING, AND CURING FEATHERS

FOR the sure and steady financial returns
the pigeon raiser looks to his market
stock. Here he does not have to deal
with persons of whims and fancies, and his
square dealing is understood and appreciated
by the buyers.

My experience in this kind of selling has
been entirely with the Western market. When
I was first looking into pigeon raising I wrote
to many places in San Francisco and out of the
replies I received I selected two large and well
established markets whose proprietors wrote
me kind and courteous letters, saying they would
take all the squabs I could send them, whether
a large or small shipment, and would give me
the highest market prices. They added that
they preferred receiving them by Friday of
each week, but would take them whenever it
was most convenient for me to send them and
either alive or dead.

105

106 PIGEON RAISING

I shipped to these same men exclusively dur-
ing the entire time I was in the pigeon business
and always found them kind and considerate —
prompt in payment and in the return of the
shipping baskets. I reciprocated by being
equally prompt in shipping by the same train on
the same day of each week and as nearly as
possible the same number of squabs, so that
they could count on my supply. And, as my
squabs were first-class in every way, they gave
me good prices all the year round.

I had eight or ten strong, roomy, well-venti-
lated baskets made at a basket weaver's for
$2.25 a piece. There was a partition across the
center to prevent crowding into one corner and
causing smothering, and as my squabs were
large, I rarely put more than eighteen in a
basket — nine on a side.

I cannot remember the exact dimensions of
these baskets, but think they were thirty inches
long by fifteen wide and nine inches high. Two
of these nine inches, at the top, were open
slats. The remainder of the basket was closely
woven. The opening part of the lid was five
or six inches wide, running the full length of the
basket. At first I used padlocks, giving the
marketmen duplicate keys, but after the keys
were destroyed in the fire I simply tied the

MARKETING 107

lids down with stout string and the squabs were
shipped in perfect safety.

As the marketmen could make better rates,
they paid the expressage and deducted the
.amount from the returns. This included the
Return of the shipping baskets. The expressage
Was light — something like four baskets for
forty-five cents.

It is best not to ship exclusively to one mar-
ket for fear of lowering the price.

If the market the breeder selects demands
Hressed squabs, or if the breeder wishes to take
advantage of an added revenue by curing the
feathers, of course it is to his advantage to do
this part of the marketing as neatly and with
as much dispatch as possible. The squabs
should be gathered the day before they are to
be killed and confined in baskets or coops of
some sort where they may keep each other
Warm, if the weather is cold; but not too many
in one compartment for fear some will be
smothered. The reason for gathering them up
so early is that the crop and intestines may be-
come entirely emptied of all undigested and
digested food, as in this state they will keep for
a much longer time after being killed. Twenty-
four hours is the length of time usually allowed.
A squab is ready to kill when it is plump and

108 PIGEON RAISING

well feathered, usually between three and four
weeks old. They need not be feathered under
the wings, but all top feathers should be out.

There are two ways of killing a squab, one
with a killing knife, which comes especially for
the purpose, and the other by tweaking the
neck. In the latter method hold the hands
close together on the neck next the head and
break it by a sudden pull forward and then
push back quickly. Too much strength must
not be used or the head will come off, which
must not occur as all markets require the heads
left on. I have shipped three ways; dressed,
killed and unplucked, and alive.

Whether plucked or unplucked, the birds must
hang suspended by the feet until the blood runs
out of the body or they will bruise in packing.
The simplest way to do this is to suspend from
the ceiling by a wire at each end a piece of
studding eight or ten feet long with two nine-
penny wire finish nails driven close enough to-
gether to admit of squeezing between them the
feet of a squab; set these four inches apart and
above each place a number on the studding. If
the nails are numbered the squabs will not have
to be counted.

As each squab is killed it is hung by its feet
being caught between the two nails in the
Studding. If they are to be shipped unplucked

MARKETING 109

they are allowed to hang over night to cool
thoroughly and so the blood may drain out of
the body into the head before shipping, when
they can be graded; tie the best ones in bunches
and the smaller ones together, and send thus
properly ticketed with the address of the mar-
ket and that of the shipper and number of
birds in the bunch; or the bunches tied in a sack
and ticketed. There is less likelihood of any
of the bunches being lost by following the latter
plan.

No matter how the squab breeder ships he
must grade his birds, putting the largest to-
gether and the smaller ones by themselves; it
is also best to send the same grade to the same
market each time, so the markets will know
what to expect. There is danger of lowering
the price and injuring the reputation of the
pigeon plant by mixing grades.

When I had my squabs plucked I employed
two men and paid them by the squab — one cent
and a half. They could kill, pluck, plunge
into water, and hang up to dry from twenty-
four to thirty squabs in an hour.

While one man was getting some vessels of
water ready, the other started in to kill and
hang up; then the other followed closely with
rough picking, beginning at the neck and leav-
ing atout three-quarters of an inch next the

110 PIGEON RAISING

head unpicked. Care must be used not to
break the skin. If the bird is well fattened the
skin is not easily torn. The process of tweak-
ing the neck also stretches the neck so it is
not easily torn. If killed with the killing knife
it is best to attach a weighted wire in the mouth.
These wires are six inches long, hooked and
pointed at the upper end, and weighted at the
lower end with a piece of lead the size of a
small walnut.

As soon as the first man finishes killing he
starts in to pluck out the pinfeathers from those
" rough picked " ; in this operation a small knife
is useful. As he finishes each bird he washes
out the mouth and the feet then plunges it
into a tub of clean cold water to remove the
animal heat and to make the flesh firm and
plump.

As soon as the second man has finished
" rough picking " he turns in to help the other
man do the pinfeathering. Together they take
the birds from the water and hang them up
for five minutes to drain. By the time the
last is hung up the first are ready to pack. In
this way two men have handled ten dozen birds
in from four to five hours.

No matter how the birds are shipped it is a
distinct advantage that the market stock should

MARKETING 111

be clean limbed, as a booted bird makes that
much more work in plucking.

If they are to be shipped some distance and
the weather is warm it is best to pack them
with ice in boxes or kegs, placing a layer of
cracked ice at the bottom, and alternating with
birds and ice, finishing with a generous topping
of ice. Place a secure covering over this and
mark full directions to whom shipped, as well
as the address of the shipper and the number of
birds. The boxes should not be larger than two
feet square and one foot high.

For short distances I have merely used lay-
ers of lettuce leaves so that the birds would not
press on one another. Never ship in anything
made of pine as it affects the flavor. The box
or keg should under any circumstances be lined
with cheap .white paper so that the birds are
not in direct contact with the wood.

Pigeon raisers should be cautious how they
antagonize marketmen by working up private
trade. The marketmen can at any time under-
sell him and throw him out of business, and still
his grain bills go on.

The marketman keenly appreciates a pro-
ducer that upholds him in his business and he
reciprocates whenever he can by giving good
prices, paid in prompt checks, and the quick

112 PIGEON RAISING

return of the baskets. The marketman does
not charge a commission.

If squabs are shipped alive they should be
sent away with their crops full; they arrive in
much better shape and the marketman need
not feel compelled to kill them right away. If
feed is kept constantly in the pigeon houses or
pens, the breeder can feel sure the squabs are
fed, even though he commences gathering them
before seven.

The markets will not pay for a squab that
has been smothered or in any other way killed
in the shipping.

CURING FEATHERS

If the squabs are hung up immediately after
killing there is not much trouble about the
feathers becoming bloody, but if they should,
it is an easy matter to clean them. In placing
the squabs in their coops awaiting the killing,
it is a good plan to put all the light squabs in
together and all the dark ones together, so that
when they are hung up for picking the light
feathers will be separated from the dark. Take
all the small feathers and put them into cheese
cloth bags; then put them in a sink and let the
water run over and through them until it runs

MARKETING 113

clear, tossing the feathers about in the bag and
rubbing them against each other. Gently
squeeze out the surplus water and, if it is a
mild climate, hang the bags on the clothesline
in the open air. If a cold, freezing climate,
hang in the furnace room or some place where
it is warm and dry, but put them in the open
air whenever the weather will admit, until they
plump up and smell clean and fresh.

THE END

0 UTIX G PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

The textl>°oh for ouf-
door vork and play

Each book deals with a separate subject and deals
with it .thoroughly. If you want to know anything*
about Airedales an OUTING HANDBOOK gives you
all you want. If it's Apple Growing, another OUTING
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Two hundred titles are projected. The series cov-
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If you wish for any information on any outdoor
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1. EXERCISE AND HEALTH, by Dr.
Woods Hutchinson. Dr. Hutchinson takes the com-
mon-sense view that the greatest problem in exercise
for most of us is to get enough of the right kind. The
greatest error in exercise is not to take enough, and
the greatest danger in athletics is in giving them up.
He writes in a direct matter-of-fact manner with an
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the rational, all-around manner of living that is best
calculated to bring a man to a ripe old age with little
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PUTIN 0 PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

2. CAMP COOKERY, by Horace Kephart.
"The less a man carries in his pack the more he must
carry in his head/* says Mr. Kephart. This book tells
what a man should carry in both pack and head. Every
step is traced — the selection of provisions and utensils,
with the kind and quantity of each, the preparation of
game, the building of fires, the cooking of every con-
ceivable kind of food that the camp outfit or woods,
fields or streams may provide — even to the making of
desserts. Every recipe is the result of hard practice
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3. BACKWOODS SURGERY ANI>
MEDICINE, by Charles S. Moody, M. D. A
handy book for the prudent lover of the woods who
doesn't expect to be ill but believes in being on the
safe side. Common-sense methods for the treatment
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of the necessary medical and surgical supplies.

4. APPLE GROWING, by M. C. Burritt.
The various problems confronting the apple grower,
from the preparation of the soil and the planting of the
trees to the marketing of the fruit, are discussed in de-
tail by the author.

5. THE AIREDALE, by Williams Haynes.
The book opens with a short chapter on the origin and
development of the Airedale, as a distinctive breed.
The author then takes up the problems of type as
bearing on the selection of the dog, breeding, training
and use. The book is designed for the non-profes-
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diseases.

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OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

6. THE AUTOMOBILE— -Its Selection,
Care and Use, by Robert Sloss. This is a plain,
practical discussion of the things that every man needs
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are given in simple, intelligent terms. From it the
car owner can easily learn the mechanism of his motor
and the art of locating motor trouble, as well as how to
use his car for the greatest pleasure. •

7. FISHING KITS AND EQUIPMENT,
by Samuel G. Camp. A complete guide to the ang-
ler buying a new outfit. Every detail of the fishing kit
of the freshwater angler is described, from rodtip to
creel, and clothing. Special emphasis is laid on put-
fitting for fly fishing, but full instruction is also given
to the man who wants to catch pickerel, pike, muskel-
lunge, lake-trout, bass and other freshwater game
fishes. The approved method of selecting and testing
the various rods, lines, leaders, etc., is described.

8. THE FINE ART OF FISHING, by
Samuel G. Camp. Combine the pleasure of catching
fish with the gratification of following the sport in the
most approved manner. Che suggestions offered are
helpful to beginner and expert anglers. The range of
fish and fishing conditions covered is wide and includes
such subjects as "Casting Fine and Far Off," "Strip-
Casting for Bass," "Fishing for Mountain Trout" and
"Autumn Fishing for Lake Trout." The book is per-
vaded with a spirit of love for the streamside and the
out-doors generally which the genuine angler will ap-
preciate. A companion book to "Fishing Kits and
Equipment."

9. THE HORSE— Its Breeding, Care and
Use, by David Buffum. Mr. Buffum takes up the
common, every-day problems of the ordinary horse-
users, such as feeding, shoeing, simple home remedies,
breaking and the cure for various equine vices. An
important chapter is that tracing the influx of Arabian
blood into the English and American horses and its
value and limitations. A distinctly sensible book for the
sensible man who wishes to know how he can improve
his horses and his horsemanship at the same time.

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OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

10. THE MOTOR BOAT— Its Selection,
Care and Use, by H. W. Slauson. The intending
purchaser is advised as to the type of motor boat best
suited to his particular needs and how to keep it in run-
ning condition after purchased.

11. OUTDOOR SIGNALLING, by Elbert
Wells. Mr. Wells has perfected a method of signall-
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is as simple as it is effective. The fundamental prin-
ciple can be learned in ten minutes and its application
is far easier than that of any other code now in use.

12. TRACKS AND TRACKING, by Josef
Brunner. After twenty years of patient study and
practical experience, Mr. Brunner can, from his intimate
knowledge, speak with authority on this subject.
"Tracks and Tracking" shows how to follow intelli-
gently even the most intricate animal or bird tracks;
how to interpret tracks of wild game and decipher the
many tell-tale signs of the chase that would otherwise
pass unnoticed; to tell from the footprints the name,
sex, speed, direction, whether and how wounded, and
many other things about wild animals and birds.

13. WING AND TRAP-SHOOTING, by
Charles Askins. Contains a full discussion of the var-
ious methods, such as snap-shooting, swing and half-
swing, discusses the flight of birds with reference to
the gunner's problem of lead and range and makes
special application of the various points to the different
birds commonly shot in this country. A chapter is in-
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forceful and common-sense presentation of the etiquette
of the field.

14. PROFITABLE BREEDS OF POUL-
TRY, by Arthur S. Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler dis-"
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purpose breeds. Advice is given from the standpoint of
the man who desires results in eggs and stock rather
than in specimens for exhibition. In addition to a care-
ful analysis of stock — good and bad — and some conclu-
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writes in detail regarding Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes,
Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, etc.

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OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

15. RIFLES AND RIFLE SHOOTING,
by Charles Askins. A practical manual describing
various makes and mechanisms, in addition to discuss-
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as well as their use. Every type of rifle is discussed so
that the book is complete in every detail.

16. SPORTING FIREARMS, by Horace
Kephart. This book is the result of painstaking tests
and experiments. Practically nothing is taken for
granted. Part I deals with the rifle, and Part II with
the shotgun. The man seeking guidance in the selec-
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student of the subject, will receive an unusual amount
of assistance from this work.

17. THE YACHTSMAN'S HANDBOOK,
by Herbert L. Stone. The author and compiler of
this work is the editor of "Yachting." He treats in
simple language of the many problems confronting the
amateur sailor and motor boatman. Handling ground
tackle, handling lines, taking soundings, the use of the
lead line, care and use of sails, yachting etiquette, are
all given careful attention. Some light is thrown upon
the operation of the gasoline motor, and suggestions
are made for the avoidance of engine troubles.

18. SCOTTISH AND IRISH TERRIERS,
by Williams Haynes. This is a companion book to
"The Airedale," and deals with the history and develop-
ment of both breeds. For the owner of the dog, valu-
able information is given as to the use of the terriers,
their treatment in health, their treatment when sick, the
principles of dog breeding, and dog shows and rules.

19. NAVIGATION FOR THE AMA-
TEUR, by Capt. E. T. Morton. A short treatise
on the simpler methods of finding position at sea by
the observation of the sun's altitude and the use of the
sextant and chronometer. It is arranged especially for
yachtsmen and amateurs who wish to know the simpler
formulae for the necessary navigation involved in tak-
ing a boat anywhere off shore. Illustrated,

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DUT1NG PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

20. OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY, by
IJulian A. Dimock. A solution of all the problems in
camera work out-of-doors. The various subjects dealt
with are: The Camera — Lens and Plates-^-Light and
Exposure— Development— Prints and Printing, etc.

21. PACKING AND PORTAGING, by
Dillon Wallace. Mr. Wallace has brought together
in one volume all the valuable information on the differ-
ent ways of making and carrying the different kinds
of packs. The ground covered ranges from man-
packing to horse-packing, from the use of the tump
line to throwing the diamond hitch.

22. THE BULL TERRIER, by Williams
Haynes. This is a companion book to "The Airedale"
and "Scottish and Irish Terriers" by the same author.
Its greatest usefulness is as a guide to the dog owner
who wishes to be his own kennel manager. A full ac-
count of the development of the breed is given with a
description of best types and standards. Recommen-
dations for the care of the dog in health or sickness are
included.

23. THE FOX TERRIER, by Williams
Haynes. As in his other books on the terrier, Mr.
Haynes takes up the origin and history of the breed, its
types and standards, and the more exclusive representa-
tives down to the present time. Training the Fox Ter-
rier— His Care and Kenneling in Sickness and Health —
and the Various Uses to Which He Can Be Put — are
among the phases handled.

24. SUBURBAN GARDENS, by Grace

Illustrated with diagrams. The author re-
gards the house and grounds as a complete unit and
shows how the best results may be obtained by carrying
the reader in detail through the various phases of de-
signing the garden, with the levels and contours neces-
sary, laying out the walks and paths, planning and plac-
ing the arbors, summer houses, seats, etc., and selecting
and placing trees, shrubs, vines and flowers. Ideal plans
for plots of various sizes are appended, as well as sug-
gestions for correcting mistakes that have been made
through "starting wrong."

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OUTIXG PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

25. FISHING WITH FLOATING FLIES,
by Samuel G. Camp. This is an art that is compara-
tively new in this country although English anglers
have used the dry fly for generations. Mr. Camp has
given the matter special study and is one of the few
American anglers who really understands the matter
from the selection of the outfit to the landing of the
fish.

26. THE GASOLINE MOTOR, by Harold
Whiting Slauson. Deals with the practical problems
of motor operation, The standpoint is that of the man
who wishes to know how and why gasoline generates
power and something about the various types. De-
scribes in detail the different parts of motors and the
faults to which they are liable. Also gives full direc-
tions as to repair and upkeep.

27. ICE BOATING, by H. L. Stone. Illus-
trated with diagrams. Here have been brought to-
gether all the available information on the organization
and history of ice-boating, the building of the various
types of ice yachts, from the small 15 footer to the
600-foot racer, together with detailed plans and specifi-
cations. Full information is also given to meet the
needs of those who wish to be able to build and sail
their own boats but are handicapped by the lack of
proper knowledge as to just the points described in
this volume.

28. MODERN GOLF, by Harold H. Hil-
ton. Mr. Hilton is the only man who has ever held
the amateur championship of Great Britain and the
United States in the same year. This book gives the
reader sound advice, not so much on the mere swing-
ing of the clubs as in the actual playing of the game,
with all the factors that enter into it. He discusses
the use of wooden clubs, the choice of clubs, the art
of approaching, and kindred subjects.

29. INTENSIVE FARMING, by L. C.
Corbett. A discussion of the meaning, method and
value of intensive methods in agriculture. This book is
designed for the convenience of practical farmers who
find themselves under the necessity of making a living
out of high-priced land.

23

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

30. PRACTICAL DOG BREEDING, by
Williams Haynes. This is a companion volume to
PRACTICAL DOG KEEPING, described below. It
goes at length into the fundamental questions of breed-
ing, such as selection of types on both sides, the per-
petuation of desirable, and the elimination of undesir-
able qualities, the value of prepotency in building up a
desired breed, etc.

31. PRACTICAL DOG KEEPING, by
Williams Haynes. Mr. Haynes is well known to the
readers of the OUTING HANDBOOKS as the author
of books on the terriers. His new book is somewhat
more ambitious in that it carries him into the general
field of selection of breeds, the buying and selling of
dogs, the care of dogs in kennels, handling in bench
shows and field trials, and at considerable length into
such subjects as food and feeding, exercise and groom-
ing, disease, etc.

32. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, by R.
L. Watts. This book is designed for the small grower
•with a limited plot of ground. The reader is told what
types of vegetables to select, the manner of planting and
cultivation, and the returns that may be expected.

33. AMATEUR RODMAKING, by Perry
D. Frazer. Illustrated. A practical manual for all
those who want to make their own rod and fittings. It
contains a review of fishing rod history, a discussion
of materials, a list of the tools needed, description of
the method to be followed in making all kinds of rods,
including fly-casting, bait-fishing, salmon, etc., with
full instructions for winding, varnishing, etc.

34. PISTOL AND REVOLVER SHOOT-
ING, by A. L. A. Himmelwright. A new and re-
vised edition of a work that has already achieved prom-
inence as an accepted authority on the use of the hand
gun. Full instructions are given in the use of both
revolver and target pistol, including shooting position,
grip, position of arm, etc. The book is thoroughly il-
lustrated with diagrams and photographs and includes
the rules of the United States Revolver Association and
a list of the records made both here and abroad.

24

OUTIXG PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

35. PIGEON RAISING, by Alice Mac-
Leod. This is a book for both fancier and market
breeder. Full descriptions are given of the construc-
tion of houses, the care of the birds, preparation for
market, and shipment, of the various breeds with their
markings and characteristics.

36. FISHING TACKLE, by Perry D.
Frazer. Illustrated. It tells all the fisherman needs
to know about making and overhauling his tackle dur- •
ing the closed season and gives full instructions for
tournament casting and fly-casting.

37. AUTOMOBILE OPERATION, by A.
L. Brennan, Jr. Illustrated. Tells the plain truth
about the little things that every motorist wants to
know about his own car. Do you want to cure ignition
troubles? Overhaul and adjust your carbureter? Keep
your transmission in order? Get the maximum wear
out of your tires? Do any other of the hundred and
one things that are necessary for the greatest use and
enjoyment of your car? Then you will find this book
useful.

38. THE FOX HOUND, by Roger D. Wil-
liams. Author of "Horse and Hound." Illustrat-
ed. The author is the foremost authority on fox hunt-
ing and foxhounds in America. For years he has kept
the foxhound studbook, and is the final source of infor-
mation on all disputed points relating to this breed.
His book discusses types, methods of training, kennel-
ing, diseases and all the other practical points relating
to the use and care of the hound, etc.

39. SALT WATER GAME FISHING, by
Charles F. Holder. Mr. Holder covers the whole
field of his subject devoting a chapter each to such fish
as the tuna, the tarpon, amberjack, the sail fish, the yel-
low-tail, the king fish, the barracuda, the sea bass and
the small game fishes of Florida, Porto Rico, the Pa-
cific Coast, Hawaii, and the Philippines. The habits
and habitats of the fish are described, together with the
methods and tackle for taking them. Illustrated.

25

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY^ NEW 70RK

40. WINTER CAMPING, by Warwick S.
Carpenter. A book that meets the increasing interest
in outdoor life in the cold weather. Mr. Carpenter dis-
cusses such subjects as shelter equipment, clothing,
food, snowshoeing, skiing, and winter hunting, wild life
in winter woods, care of frost bite, etc. Illustrated.

41. *WOODCRAFT FOR WOMEN, by
Mrs. Kathrene Gedney Pinkerton. The author has
spent several years in the Canadian woods and is thor-
oughly familiar with the subject from both the mascu-
line and feminine point of view. She gives sound tips
on clothing, camping outfit, food supplies, and methods,
by which the woman may adjust herself to the outdoor
environment.

42. *SMALL BOAT BUILDING, by H.
W. Patterson. Illustrated with diagrams and plans.
A working manual for the man who wants to be his
own designer and builder. Detail descriptions and
drawings are given showing the various stages in the
building, and chapters are included on proper materials
and details.

43. READING THE WEATHER, by T.
Morris Longstreth. The author gives in detail the
various recognized signs for different kinds of weather
based primarily on the material worked out by the Gov-
ernment Weather Bureau, gives rules by which the char-
acter and duration of storms may be estimated, and
gives instructions for sensible use of the barometer.
He also gives useful information as to various weather
averages for different parts of the country, at different
times of the year, and furnishes sound advice for the
camper, sportsman, and others who wish to know what
they may expect in the weather line.

44. BOXING, by D. C. Hutchison. Practi-
cal instruction for men who wish to learn the first steps
in the manly art. Mr. Hutchison writes from long per-
sonal experience as an amateur boxer and as a trainer
of other amateurs. His instructions are accompanied
with full diagrams showing the approved blows and
guards. He also gives full directions for training for
condition without danger of going stale from overtrain-*
ing. It is essentially a book for the amateur.

26

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

45. TENNIS TACTICS, by Raymond D.
Little. Out of his store of experience as a successful
tennis player, Mr. Little has written this practical guide
for those who wish to know how real tennis is played.
He tells the reader when and how to take the net, dis-
cusses the relative merits of the back-court and volley-
ing game and how their proper balance may be achiev-
ed; analyzes and appraises the twist service, shows the
fundamental necessities of successful doubles play.

46. HOW TO PLAY TENNIS, by James
Burns. This book gives simple, direct instruction from
the professional standpoint on the fundamentals of the
game. It tells the reader how to hold his racket, how
to swing it for the various strokes, how to stand and
how to cover the court. These points are illustrated
with photographs and diagrams. The author also illus-
trates the course of the ball in the progress of play and
points out the positions of greatest safety and greatest
danger.

47. TAXIDERMY, by Leon L. Pray. Il-
lustrated with diagrams. Being a practical taxidermist,
the author at once goes into the question of selection
of tools and materials for the various stages of skin-
ning, stuffing and mounting. The subjects whose hand-
ling is described are, for the most part, the every-day
ones, such as ordinary birds, small mammals, etc., al-
though adequate instructions are included for mounting
big game specimens, as well as the preliminary care of
skins in hot climates. Full diagrams accompany the
text.

48. THE CANOE— ITS SELECTION,
CARE AND USE, by Robert E. Pinkerton. Il-
lustrated with photographs. With proper use the canoe
is one of the safest crafts that floats. Mr. Pinkerton
tells how that state of safety may be obtained. He gives
full instructions for the selection of the right canoe for
each particular purpose or set of conditions. Then he
tells how it should be used in order to secure the maxi-
mum of safety, comfort and usefulness. His own lesson
was learned among the Indians of Canada, where pad-
dling is a high art, and the use of the canoe almost as
much a matter of course as the wearing of moccasins.

27

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

49. HORSE PACKING, by Charles J.
Post. Illustrated with diagrams. This is a complete
description of the hitches, knots, and apparatus used in
making and carrying loads of various kinds on horse-
back. Its basis is the methods followed in the West
and in the American Army. The diagrams are full and
detailed, giving the various hitches and knots at each
of the important stages so that even the novice can
follow and use them. It is the only book ever pub-
lished on this subject of which this could be said. Full
description is given of the ideal pack animal, as well as
a catalogue of the diseases and injuries to which such
animals are subject.

50. ^LEARNING TO SWIM, by L. de B.
Handley. Illustrated. Constructed especially for the
beginner who has no knowledge of the first steps. Ex-
plains the formation of the strokes, how to acquire con-
fidence in the water and gives full details as to the var-
ious methods, including those used by experts and rac-
ing swimmers.

51. *SMALL BOAT NAVIGATION, by
Lieut. Com. F. W. Sterling, U. S. N. Retired.
Illustrated with diagrams. A complete description of
the instruments and methods necessary in navigating
small boats in pilot waters, on soundings, and oft7 shore.
Describes the taking of sights for position, the running
of courses, taking soundings, using the chart, plotting
compass courses, etc. Several chapters are given over
to the seamanship side of navigation, explaining the
handling of small boats under various conditions.

52. *TOURING AFOOT, by D^. C. P.
Fordyce. Illustrated. This book is designed to
meet the growing interest in walking trips and covers
the whole field of outfit and method for trips of varying
length,. Various standard camping devices are de-
scribed and outfits are prescribed for all conditions.
It is based on the assumption that the reader will want
to carry on his own back everything that he requires
for the trip.

28

I OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY — NEW YORK

53. THE MARINE MOTOR, by Lieut.
Com. F. W. Sterling, U. S. N. (Ret.). Illustrated
with diagrams. This book is the product of a wide ex-
perience on the engineering staff of the United States
Navy. It gives careful descriptions of the various
parts of the marine motor, their relation to the whole
and their method of operation; it also describes the
commoner troubles and suggests remedies. The prin-
cipal types of engines are described in detail with dia-
grams. The object is primarily to give the novice a
good working knowledge of his engine, its operation
and care.

54. *THE BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK, by
Frank C. Pellett. Illustrated. This book is design-
ed primarily for the small scale bee farmer. It discusses
the different varieties of bees and their adaptability to
different conditions, the construction of hives, care and
feeding at various times of the year, handling of bees,
and the types of locations and feed most suitable for
bee culture.

55. *THE POINTER, by Williams Haynes.
Contains chapters on the history and development of
the breed, selection of dog, breeding, kenneling, and
training. Also contains information on common sense
remedies for ordinary diseases.

56. *THE SETTER, by Williams Haynes.
The author takes up the origin and history of the breed,
its development, breeding, kenneling, and training. He
also discusses the various diseases to which they are:
subject and treatment therefor.

57. ^PRACTICAL BAIT CASTING, by
Larry St. John. Illustrated. This book deals with
tackle and methods used in catching black bass. It is
based upon a wide and varied experience in the middle
West, where more bass fishing is done than in any
other part of the country.

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