New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-03-01


tail or IL il. inserted in a. separate qul, and attached
y thread 90 the same thus' beng hnderauce to the
bird IN dying The old method of tying the letter under
the wing no longer adopted. Before the Germans got
TO know the system they attempted, now and then To
send in some OF the captured pigeons with bogus us
patches; blt the deception was immediately discovered
Tne wings the pigeons also are stamped Win tr ""'e
and place Of departure.
rhe pigeons used for the carrying of the d>a'ceN "Ie
larger than the house pigeons hcinS dh"u -
inches i'm length ana weighing from to u pounds ana
strongly resembling the wild pigeon. While the 1'tcr
however have gray plumase with black wings Che
ttll a,l is usually dark-brOwn or perfectly black
y, brca,t-musclcs very large and strong ndic''g
GREAT power of flight and endurance Most OrmthoI"-
s,tS are aersed that two elements enable the carrier
p ,ron IA IL. great power or wing 10 perform us rs
to1i,lipg ourneys-namely the love Of home and the
sharpness pf the eye As soon pigeon is released
,, matter where taken il Immediately darts upward,
tc- and constantly enlarsing the circle - IT asc'rdS
higher -ttugat last almost beyond the reach Ol the
luan until finally, getting the direction OF ITS home
q. shoot, oil with incredible swftnc>S 4 pigeon sent
from , floating balloon takes exactly contrary drec-
tim Al fir, descending perp ndicularly carthwird,
rns .. II dc,ccnds, until it recognizes its position
All tn. j. matter Of training ana race
10 t good rusty carrcrpgeOnS. short journeys must
le nr.t made when the birds are still very yolhg
these being continually increased until they are able to
perform immense distances with certainty ana without
interruption Belgium Is the land par excellence Of
,9rrcr-p;cOus then Holland. the lands Of the Lower
Rhine and the northeast Of France Pgcon-"iancyine
is In Belgium a passion; the Belgian fancler taxes
greater pride in his dovccOte than probably any other
European. Who has not him seated on the roof of
De-, house. or at Of the hghe, garnet windows, in
the beautiful summer evening, waiting for the return of
hi, pigeons, which he expects from some towns in
France, from Germany, and, indeed. az tinr-, from
Itayl His heart almost breaks when Of his favor
ties lost But his pigeons to his honor il must be- said
do generally return His breed or race is pure. He
knows what they can dO-how far they fly, and what
burden, they should bear. He calls the Parisian>
know-notiuga" in regard to their pigeons and cannot
gudcrtaud why OF many bird, that sent out from
the city ky the balloons only very few return.
writer in the Vienna Prose- reports very inter
eating conversation he lately held with one OF the
most prominent Mig on-fancers of Belgium, who rcgret
fed that he had not taken his stock Of birds into Paris
).,or. fb, Germans bceagucrcd IT, as he would GER
tiul, have become rich ana. his views are shared by
tbe rrrr, Of IUttch. Nainnr and Brussels, the pro-
,ucus cities Of the nOest race Of pigeons This iancer
gave some interesting information about the letter
picron which shall be- here transcribed lie hrst ot an
referred o. SOME agencies prevalent which seriously
iniurc tine usefulness Of the pigeon a. postal mesNen-
ger: First the conclusions they get while i'll the bal
jonu many being thus killed secondly the Paris pigeon
i mot of good race" and this disadvantage j. scT
onlt increased by the officials taking the pigeons 100
long distance, aud overlooking them with dispatches
gfugu KNOWS ROW 10 ftli Ills nus "+''''N
.'The owner of a good pigeon COTE says our Began
places il al the disposition Of the Government or s's
IL outright. From this moment the cote becomes an ON
eial bureau in which more Government OFFICIALS
mist rcnan Tie pig cons separated into small lois
and those from one cote, neshborng cotes, are sent
an the same Journey whenever possible Inc balloon
takes the LOT I'm a cage and after successful descent
the birds are delivered 10 the proper authorities
II depeUds very much upon the treatment the birds now
receive whether or not they make successful return 10
Paris II the Parsians had bred only the celebrated
reddish or blue Belgian they would not nave
had much cause 10 fear about their return They do not
70 quickly a. the balloons came but quicker than
the railroad and journey from the Belgian borders TO
Paris Is 70 them but little task" halloonetter from
Paris quoted in proof Of the impcrfect0n OF the
french pigeon service. For few days pa-t'-so II
grad-we have been truly favored u regard 10 the ar
rival Of from the provinces. Yesterday came t"o
m yeons to-day again two; Of the latter came al II
O'clock In the morning and the other
The Belgian fanCier shook his head thouchtmly "Thcy
fend the pigeons away by the Dozen" De ad and they
return singy; that Is bad race. They remain la the
fields and permit Themselves 10 De s0, by NE peasants
by the Prussians Probably some Of these Paris
birds will remain sitting the roofs Of he houses after
their return, 50 that they must br shot down
VISIT 90 the BociIus pigeon cote is thus described
IVo.a s~4 H,lsy. vi 10 o.4 c.-l I'D .a,..- .c ~ue,,