The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1877-01-28
Il TALUABLE SUGGESTION TO STEAM
SHIP COMPANIES
A RAPID AND SURE MEANS OF CoMMUNICA-
TON BETWEEN SHIP AT SEA AND THE
SHORE.
IN. Y. Timinl

t com m nication with them while at sea, ha
+ suggested the query: Why do not the steam
r ship Companies utilize the carrier pigeon a
a means of communication between thei
: vessels and either the port of departure o
: the port of destination7 A number o
r ocean steamships are now from a week to
7 month overdue, among them the Co
r Jumbo, of the Wilson Line, plying between
this city and Hull, which is now overd Ne
thirty one sdsys. The Anglia, of the An
r Choir Line, to Glasgow, was overdue thirty
one days before she was heard from, and
other steamers of more or lees Importance
In maritime circles are now anxiously look
ed for. Had these vessels been provided
with carrier pigeons, their fate and the
cause of their delay might have been known
long before this time by their owners and
| the friends of passengers on board.
| The use of carrier pigeons passed into
| dlsuetude to certain extent with the ad-
vent of the magnetic telegraph, although
they are still used with success in some
parts of Europe by minor journals. In
France and Belgium the proprietors of
| many newspapers raise carrier pigeons in
| their offices, and when q correspondent or
| reporter is dispatched for news to some
place not readily accessible or off the line
| of the telegraph, he takes with him from
| three to six of these faithful carriers, and
dispatches them with news at intervals
Upon their arrival at their destination the
news thus received. where unusually im-
portant, is published in ''extras." Mr.. Au-
gust Brunin, editor of the Journal L'Eper-
vier of Brussels has been most successful in
raising carrier pigeons His birds are of
the Antwerp breed. This gentleman has
supplied many parties in this country with
these birds, realizing handsome profits on
some of them. Mr.. T. Ogden Weatherly,
OF Philadelphia, possesses q flock of over
fifty birds, of which the original stock was
received from Mr.. Brunin. Some of them
cost Mr.. Weatherly as high as $50 francs
pair, having won prizes in races of 400
miles from the south of France to Brussels.
The Antwerp birds are large and strong,
and are capable of carrying all the manu-
script a correspondent could write in half
hour, and, when we'll trained, have been
known to make mile a minute, although
their average rate of speed is about thirty
miles an honr. The carrier pigeon is larger
than the ordinary pigeon, being usually
about fifteen inches in lenght, and weigh
from one pound toe pound and half.
Their plumage is generally either Dan color
or black. AS to the instinct which leads
them to make such wondrous flights, natu-
rslists seem to be pretty well agreed that
it ls made up of two elements-love of home
and keenness of sight. Rennie, the orni-
biologist, speaking of the pigeons power of
vision, says eve have not a doubt that it
is by the eye alone that the carrier pigeon
performs those extraordinary aerial Jour.
neys which have from the earliest ages ex-
cited establishment. We have frequently
witnessed the experiment. made with other
pigeons of taking them from the dove cot
expressly to observe their manner of tiuding
their way back, and we feel satisfied tn at
their proceedings are uniformly the same.
On being let 60 from the bag in which they
have been carried in order to conceal the
obi sets on the road, they cart off on an ir.
regular excursion. When they find them
selves at full liberty, they direct their flight
in circles round the spot whence they have
been liberated, not only increasing the
diameter of tie circle at every round, but
rising at the same time grad higher"
1t is therefore concluded that the birds
rake a Ccuetantly increasing circle until
they ascertain some known object which
enables them to shape q direct course.
Whatever may Ice said about the instinct
that Is at work, good deal of training ia
necessary to make the pigeons trustworthy
in their flight. The Turks have paid much
attention T" this matter. When young
pigeon arrives at full strength of wing it is
hoodwinked, or else put in a basket, and
taken distance of a mile or 80 from the
house. 1t is then tried an additional mile
| or two, and the distance ia gradually in
creased, until the bird will traverse the
whole lenght or breadth of kingdom
These Turkish pigeons are still used a
great deal by merchants at Aleppo, as a
means OF communication with ports on the
Mediterranean. The best pigeons are those
which have brood at home, to which they
are, true to maternal instincts. anxious to
return. Narratives are plentiful concerning
particular flights of pigeons. In the last
century gentleman of London, England,
sent II pigeon by stage coach to q friend at
Barry st. Edmunds, with a note directing
the friend to let the pigeon loose at 8 in the
morning on the second day afterward.
This was done, and the pigeon arrived 1T
Bishopsgate street at 1880 a. M, having
traversed the distance of seventy-two miles
in two hours and half. On one occasion
a gentleman of Cologne, having business to
transact at Paris, made bet that he would
let his friend know of his arrival within
three days after he reached Paris. Tie bet
was eagerly taken, the gentleman proceed
ed to Paris, carrying with him two pigeon
which had q young brood at Cologne. He
arrived at Paris at 10 o'clock one morning,
released his birds at IL o'clock, and they
arrived at Cologne at ! 10 p. M, the came
day. Audubon says that wild pigeons have
appeared in this State with their crops full
of rice, which they could only have gathered
in Georgia or South Carolina, and he Calou-