The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-08-13
NAVAL HOMING BIRDS.
Experiments Showing tho Practi-
cal Value of Carrier Pigeons.
Intelligent Creatures That Can Be Taught
to Perform Valuable Service During
War-Time-Never MISTAKE
Their Owners.

The late vancouver of the French
fleet of evolution at Toulon, says the
New York Herald, have demonstrated
the usefulness and advantage of homing
pigeons for naval purposes. During
sham attack on the port of Toulon
the trained pigeons Of the central sta
tion were distributed among the
scouts and torpedo cruisers which were
stationed TO watch the approach of the
enemy's fleet. The pigeons were re-
leased at intervals, thus enabling the
prefet maritime OF the port of Toulon
to be speedily informed of the approach
and movements of the attacking fleet
and to keep in constant communication
with the ships of the feet defending
the port.
The naval messenger pigeon service
was established in France by Admiral
Bergasse Dupctit-Thouars several years
ago with headquarters at Toulon.
Every man-of-war leaving Toulon is
provided with an outfit of homing
pigeons, which are released at various
distances according to the stage of their
respective training. With few ex-
ceptions they return to their home lofts
the bearers of cipher dispatches at
tached in the customary manner in
their wings or tails.
A loft has been established on board
the gunnery practice ship st. Louis
with the view of accustoming the
pigeons to the report and smoke of
guns. They follow the vessel in her
cruises, and never mistake her for an
other.
Their usefulness has been especially
demonstrated whenever the ships of the
squadron were beyond the range of the
heliograph. as they enabled the COM
mander of the fleet to commu nicate
with the shore at long distances when
no other means of communication were
available.
The ordinary service which the
pigeon unconsciously performs by car
rying letters, orders, reports and similar
dispatches is based on the natural in
stinct of the pigeon to return to it's own
home, to which its nest mate and food
attract it. In "there-and-baclS"
fight, however, the task is to induce
the same pigeon-which, unless carried
away, as rule never forsalles its own
lotto fly to another with which it
has been previously made acquainted
in order to provide itself there with it's
accustomed food and water and then
return to its proper home.
In this manner pigeon carries dis
patch to certain spot with view of
obtaining food there. The first mes
sage is then removed and an answer
substituted, which the pigeon on the
completion of its feeding carries back
to it's own loft. In this way it is possi-
BILE with a single loft of ten birds
trained for this particular work to keep
in constant communication by messages
two places, either Or both of which may
be besieged or bloclladed.
After several successful experiments
in Italy with homing pigeons on a
"there-and-back" flight continuous
service was established between Rome
and Civita Vecchia, the latter being Sc
lected for these experiments be-
cause of it's strategic impor-
tance. The distance between Rome
and Civita Vecchia is forty miles. This
remarkable means of communication
was obtained only after long and care
full training.
Germany, France, Spain, Austria,
Italy, Portugal and Canada maintain
numerous pigeon service establish
ments, which form an important de-
partment of their naval and military
organizations. Several of them employ
pigeons in connection with the defense
of the coast as well as on board war and
dispatch vessels.
So far no organized service of messen.
ger pigeon has been established in the
United States navy. It is to be hoped
that such service will soon be estab-
lished, as numerous experiments have
demonstrated that homing pigeons car
fly several hundred miles at sea; that
they can be bred and trained on board
ship; that they can recognize their own
ship among others, and that they can
be relied upon to carry news from the
feet to the shore, and under favorable
circumstances from the shore to the
feet and from one vessel to another
when beyond the range Of heliograph
and electrograph.
A naval messenger pigeon service
cannot be improvised on short notice
as the pigeons require long and careful
training before they can be depended
upon to carry dispatches. War vessels
employed in defending coast are fre
quently without the means Of trans
mitting information of the utmost i'm
portance to the mainland. By means
of trained messenger service they coult
send communications on shore over {
distance Of several hundred miles, sig
nal the approach of an enemy's fleet
and report quickly all his movements