The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-04-21
FINE PIGEONS.



yrsining the Birds ut Their HomeA
Leading pigeon fanciers say that
there is increased interest in the rails
Ing of pigeons, particularly among the
ladies, who care for them at odd mo-
ments at home and obtain from the sale
of the birds considerable pin-money.
Mr.. Benton Hawkins, of New Jersey.
WHO is one of the best-knOwn pigeon
fanciers of this country, and whose loft
of nearly five hundred birds includes
some of the handsomest and most yal-
liable in the world, says:
Every one Of my birds know. me,
and whenever l enter the loft they
flock around. Most people have the
idea that pigeons must be bred in the
dark. This is not the case, for it makes
them wild. All mine are bred in the
light, in glass boxes painted white,
about six by eight inches in size. and
with hay inside for the nest. A curious
fact l have noticed about pigeons is
.heir loyalty to each other. Let pair
BIZ once mated and they will never for
s:.ke one another while alive. How
long do they liveP Twelve years. and
keep up their full vigor for that period.
We feed them on Canada peas, wheat.
cracked corn and occasionally little
hemp-seed. The weight Of pigeon
varies from three or four ounces to
several pounds. The biggest figure l
have heard that was paid for a pair OF
pigeons in this country wac tive hum
bred dollars. !. was given for pair
of carrier pigeons.
"Will you tell me something about
the different kinds of pigeons?" DIR. Nc
| Cook, noted lover of the bird was
! asked.
ANY one having owned pigeons Of
any kind will know what is meant by
common pigeons. They are not OF
any distinct breed or color. There are
but very few common pigeons now in
which some traces of the higher classes
can not be detected. At the same time
l believe that were flock of the so.
called common pigeons kept entirely
to themselves for a number of years,
color-marking and other characteristics
of the higher classes would entirely
disappear and the birds would be more
likely to resemble in color and shape
those they originally came from-tho
Blue Rocks Next to common pigeon
perhaps the best known, at least by
name, is the Homing Antwerp, which
is the carrier pigeon, so called. 1t is
the bird known to make long flights
The fan-tails are special favorites. The
white ones are the most common anC
easiest to breed, but they are also to bt
had in black, brown, blue, red and vel
low. The two latter are rare, and east
ly bring from ten to thirty dol
lars pair. Fans. with fowl fcath
ers, notified or checkered are no
of much value. No breed Of pigeons
has so many varieties and sub-varietie
as the tumbler pigeons, nor is there I
variety so well known that is so littl'
understood by pigeon-breeders. Man!
who own them expect them to per
form, whether the birds are given
chance or not. Usually they are KEEP
with lot of other birds, and are flowl
with them. There are also many tum
blcrs who do not tumble at all. All o
the shOrt-faced varieties are not sup
posed to be performers, although
have seen some tumble very well
Poutcrs are the first selection of man
prominent pigeon fanciers, and rarel
is this bird entirely abandoned TO
other varieties. MIR. Becker, of Bait
more. who is an enthusiastic breede
of pOuters, has at present probably tn
best birds of that variety in the coun
try. They are somewhat difficult t
breed, and good ones always deman
high prices. Five dollars for pair c
tifst-class birds would not be extravs
giant in this country, and in Englan
perhaps the same birds would brin
twice that amount and more. Ire
member that Mr.. Schell, of Brooklyn
had one he refused two hundred an
fifty dollars for. They can be had
pure white, black, red, yellow and Isl
, BELLA. ~. Y. Star.