Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-03-05


but the accuracy with which it found its
way back to it's home. In order to pro-
tect the pigeon as much as possible
from the eye of the human enemy and
the hawk it had also to be of . particu-
lar color.
To obtain this race breed was at last
obtained which com bined great strength
of wing, rapid flight and quick eye
for localities, and which was able to find
its own food in strange district. The
bird in which are best united these quail
tiles is the Belgian carrier pigeon, which
consequently is found at nearly all mil
itary pigeon stations.
Having thus obtained breed of pig
cons specially suitable for military
purposes, the sprightly members of the
young race are at once taken in hand
by the drilling-master. AS soon as a
bird can fly it is taken a short distance
from the parental cot, to which it has
to make its way back as best it can.
The distance is increased every time
the bird is taken out, and at the end of
three months the modern Hermes finds
it's home from a distance of fifty miles.
At an age up to two years it manages
two hundred miles, and a full-grown,
experienced bird is not baffled by three
times that distance. It seldom happens
that single bird is missing from q
flight which has traversed distance up
to seventy or eighty miles; but on great
or journeys being undertaken by the
adjutants of the air the same message
is always given to several pigeons, in
order to assure it's arrival at it's destina-
ton even If bird went astray or was
killed on it's way. The average speed at
which a carrier pigeon flies is estimated
at rather more than half a mile per
minute.
The present organization of the army
of doves is that military carrier-pigeon
cotes are kept in large fortresses. The
various battalions of these warriors
live in different parts of the cot, accord
ing to the direction in which they have
been trained to fly. If war breaks
out, and Russia, for example, should
fear an invasion of her frontier dis
trict, the pigeons trained to fly from
Ivangorod to Warsaw are taken from
Warsaw to Ivangorod, and those trained
to fly from Warsaw to Ivangorod are
taken in the opposite direction. AS
soon as the necessity arises certain
number of birds are let loose to supply
the besieged fortress with news from
the outer world. If the pigeons can
not be taken back, either by balloon or
some other means, to the place from
which they started, they are no longer
of any use in the present war.
Passing over in diplomatic silence the
number and names of the German mill
tary carrier-pigeon stations, the writer
concludes by pointing out that at the
end of 1887 Russia had five such stations,
and an increasing number of private
carrier-pigeon societies; Belgium has
over one thousand of the latter; France
had no less than twenty in 1885; Aus
tria is somewhat remiss in establishing
dove-cotes, but the Government looks
With much favor upon private institu-
tions of the same kind, and Italy had
last year twelve fortresses stocked with
carrier pigeons, besides two cotes at
Massowah and Assab, which were in
capital working order. :. -~
THEY tell of man in Buffalo who
swallowed six live frogs. Surely mer-
eifn1 provi1o noo ,ovor {nfor1od %bo+