Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-01-05
The French Carrier Pig
cons:

usually about fifteen inches in
length, and weighing from apound
tos pound and a half. Astothe in
stinct, or whatever. ita may Be
called, which leads carrier pig
con to make such wonderous
flights, naturalists' seem to be
pretty well agreed that it is made
Eup Of two eleinents-love Of
home and keenness Of sight
Mr.. Rennie, speaking of the. pig
cons power of vision, says: We
have not doubt that It is. by the
leye alone that the. carrier,pigeon
performs those extraordinary AERIAL
journeys which have from the
earliest ages excited astonishment.
We have frequently witnessed
the experiment made with other
pigeons of taking them to a dis.
tance from the dove-cot, expressly
to observe their manner Of find-
ing their way back; and We feel
satisfied that their proceedings
are uniformly the same. On be-
ing let go from the bag in which
they have been carried in order
to conceal the objects On the road,
they dart off on an irregular ex-l
Ieursion, as if it were more to as
certain the reality of the freedom
than to make an effort to return.
When they find themselves al full
liberty, they direct their flight in
circles rcund the spot whence.
they have been liberated, not .oH-
" increasing the diameter of, the.
circle at every round, but rising
at the same time gradually high
er. This is continued as long as
the eye can discern the birds y;
and hence we conclude that it is
also continued after We lose sight
of them-s constantly increasing
circle being made till they ascer-
tain some known object, enabling
them to shape direct course. A
spiral directly the reverse in
character is made by a pigeon les
down from the car of a balloon !;
the bird drops perpendicularly
for some distance, and then be-
gins to wheel round in q descend.
ing spiral, increasing in diameter
until some previously known OBJ
ject is described by which the
fight home may be regulated
Their vision is undoubtedly very
keen. In their wild state, as
seen in Africa, they fly in amaz.
ingly large focks over wide
ranges Of country, keeping higa
in the air, and flying with extend
ed front, SO az to enable them to
survey hundreds of acres at once
They can descry a fertile field at.
a wonderful distance, and will de-
scend with unerring accuracy to
enjoy the meal Of which they are
in search.
Whatever may be said about
the instinct that is at work, q
good deal of training is necessary
to make the pigeons trustworthy
in their fight. The Turks have
paid much attention 10 this mat
ter. When q young pigeon ar
rives at full strengthitis is hoodwink.
ed or else putinto a basket, and ta-S
ken to a distance Of half a milsz
or so from home; being set at.
liberty it scars sloft, looks keenly1
around, selects course aud flies
home. 1t is then tried a mile,
two miles, four, eight miles, un.
til at length it will traverse the
whole length or breadth .f "a
kingdom. If the pigeon fail In
the first journey or two, 1t Is dis
carded as not being fitted for this
kind of work. These Turkey
pigeons were regularly used as
media of communication in past
years. Russell, in his History Of
Aleppo, tells US that the Turkey
Company's establishment al that
ityemplOy carrieF-pigeonsto bring
news from ScanderooB, the near
est Mediterranean port. When
any of the scompany's ships ar
rived there, the name Of the ship,
the hour Of her arrival, and other
particulars, were written on q
slip of paper and fastened under
pigeons wing and the bird,
set loose, few back to Alsppo
(its honie) in two and a halt to-
three hours, the distance being
about seventymiles. The pigeons
feet were dipped in vinegar to
keep them cool, and to avoid the
DELAY which would occur if the
bird were tempted to descend at
the sight of water. The best.
pigeon always had a brood of
their own at Aleppo; and it was
anxiety above the children that
hurried the parents back. Il
was found that if the pigeon were
kept at Scarderoon more than O.
fortnight, they could not be re-