Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-03-05
(To be continued.l
GREAT SPEED OF PIGEONS.
One Travels One Hundred and Fifty Miles
in an Hour and Half.
Cornhill Magazine.

Cornhill Magazine.
The power OF pigeons on the wing is
prover0ial. All trained birds of this
species have Two qualifications in a mark
ed degree. The first is speed, the second
long and sustained power in flight This
proposition can be amply demonstrated,
and the following are some of the most re-
markable records: On October 8, 1850,
Sir John Ross dispatched a pair of young
pigeons from Assistance Bay, little west
of Wellington Sound, and on October Is a
pigeon made its appearance at the dove
| cote in Ayrshire, Scotland, whence Sir
John had the pair taken out. The distance
direct between the two places is 1000
miles. An instance is on record OF a
pigeon flying twenty-three miles in eleven
minutes, and another flew from Rouen to
! Client, $50 miles, in al hour and a half.
An interesting incident of flight is the
case of pigeon which, In 1915, fell
wounded and exhausted at VauxhalI sta
ton, then the terminus Of the Southwest
ern railway. 1t bore message to the
effect that it was one of three dispatched
to the Duke OF Wellington from Ichahoe
Island, 1000 miles away. The message
was Immediately sent to his grace, and by
him acknowledged. In pigeon competi-
ton some years ago the winning bird flew
from Ventnor to Manchester, 208 miles, at
the rate of fifty miles an hour As an ex
pertinent trained pigeon was recently
dispatched from a northern newspaper of
fee with request that it might be iber-
ated fer Its return journey at 9:45 O'Clock
q. N. 1t reached home at | 10 o'clock
p. H., having covered in the meantime
l48 miiIs, q ing at the rate Of forty miles
an hour. III the north pigeons have long
been used ID convey messages between
country houses and market towns, and in
Russia they are now being employed to
convey negatives Of photographs taken in
ballons. The first experiment of the kind
was made from the cUpola of the Cathedral
of Isaac. and the subject photographed
was the Winter Palace. The plates were
packed in envelopes, impenetrable to light,
and then tied to the feet Of the pigeons,
which safely and quickly carried them to
the station at Volkovo Here is another
interesting instance of speed and staying
power. The pigeons In question flew
from Bordeaux to Manchester, and not
only beat AL existing records, but few
more than seventy miles further than any
thing previously attempted by English fly
ers- The winning bird flew at the rate of
|, S79 yards a minute, or over sixty-four
miles an hour, and that for distance of
1421a miles. The same club has flown
birds distances of 613 and 635 miles
These latter, however, were several days
in returning, and in their case the only
wonder is that they could accomplish the
distance at all. The following is still
more interesting, as it entGileda race be-
tween birds and insects. A pigeon fancier
of Hamime, in Westphalia, made wager
that dozen bees liberated three miles
from their hive would reach it in better
time tlan dozen pegions would reach
their cot from the same distance. The
competitors were given wing at Rhynhern,
village nearly league from Hamime,
and the first bee finished a quarter of a
minute in advance of the first pigeon,
three other bees reached the goal before
the second pigeon, tie main body of both
detachments, finishing almost simultan
eousiy an instant or two later. The bees,
too, may be said to have been handicap
ped in the race, having rolled in flour be-
fore starting for purposes of Identified
ton.