Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-03

the time and on Indian corn occasionally.
They can also get out on the roof and hy
about wherever their inclination takes them.
In this place we keep them for several
months before we have them 60 through the T
primary course of training, that is before we
test their ability Of returning to their
home'
THAT is done in this manner. On .
certain beautiful and clear day all the
young ones are packed in baskets and one OF
US takes light wagon with the baskets OF
pigeons on top and drives out Of tae city fof
distance of ten miles.
OUT FOR A FLY.
Here the driver stops, opens the basket
or baskets, and let's the pigeons fly. He
marks the time of their starting, and then
slowly returns to Cologne. When arrived
there he ought TO find every pigeon at home.
A man has been watching their return, and
as soon as they got in they were caught,
number is put in book, and the time OF
their arrival is marked behind the number.
linen when the man who took them oue
comes back the time is compared and now
the pigeons are assorted according to their
CELEBRITY. Those who covered the distance in
10 minutes or less remain in the juvenile
class, and all the others are taken to the
market the next day and there soid.'
in 10 minutes the training is continued. In
few days they are again taken away in
basket to distance of ten miles. but in an
opposite direction from the first trip. Then
the same method is adopted on their return.
Those that do not come back in Is minutes
from this trip are again discarded as no
good and the training is continued only
with those who returned in the allotted
time. Their training is continued in this
manner for weeks, until they know every
direction around their home within radius
of ten miles.
"Those who complete their exercises, as
we might call them, in this class in a salts
factory manner are then placed in the
middle class, which is department parti.
toned off from the juvenile room. Here
the exercises are continued, that is, the
distances are increased. First they are sent
% miles away, then 80, then 80, then 120,
then 40, and then 250 miles.
GOOD FLYERS.
'sNow these advance again into the 400
mile class, then to the 500-mile class, and
at last to the 1,OO0-mile class"
"But suppose there are very few that
make always an even flight from the time
they start as juvenile until they get among
the 1,000-mile hyers?"
"Oh, no! Look at this basket for instance.
corner? We'll, she has been in training since
last March, and wherever she has been sent
she always returns first. Then there is
that brown one beside her. She is another
phenomenon; in fact, all the carriers have
here are excellent flyers. There are 80 in
these baskets altogether, and unless the
weather is very much against them they
will all be back home by tomorrow at
noon"
"where have your 1.OOO-mile pigeons
been already?"
Madrid, London, Stockholm, Copenhagen,
Berlin, st. Petersburg, Vienna, Constanti-
nople, Naples and Rome. Some of these
cities are even farther from Cologne than
1000 miles, as you know, but TO our best
trained pigeons that makes no difference"
"Now, in case of war, bow are these car
riers employed?"
''In this way. According to a new regu-
lation of the War Minister, there will be a
number of pigeons detailed to every staff
of every regiment in the army, and in case
of necessity these winged messengers will
be made use of. That such emergencies
arise very often is exempliied in every war
of the past. Ordinary communication is
very often cut of, as we abundantly expeli-
enced in the Franco-German war. Then
the carrier pigeons will fill a want that can
not be appreciated before it actually mani
tests ITSELF"
STATE SECRET
"How are the messages attached to the
pigeoh?"
"That is matter am not at liberty to
talk about. 1t is a secret which was dis
covered by Mr.. LEM, of the Cologne station,
and it has since been taught to every at
tache to all the stations under an oath
which prohibits us from divulging it to
anybody"
''Well, am going to leave you soon. I
have arrived at nv destination. But how
many pigeons are there at the disposal Of
the Government"
"Within "a hours there would be ), 200 at
the command of the War Department.
However, that number can be largely in
creased in this manner. There are now 245
carrier pigeon clubs all over Germany that
are training every year "a, 500 pigeons.
These clubs are connected with the Govern
mental stations in this manner: We offer
every year a number of prizes to these clubs,
consisting of gold medals, silver med
ais and money. For that considera-
tion we expect these clubs to put
their best pigeons at the command Of
the Government whenever we need them.
Take that fact into consideration, and you
can readily see that Germany has not only
the best army of soldiers in the world, but
we have an army of winged soldiers that il
unique, for no other country has its equal"
ERNEST II. HEINRICHS.