The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-03-23
H NE Score.

ever, in these close times, endeayored TO
find flying substitute. in order to keep
themselves in good form for the open season
when it came This, without doubt, was
the birth OF the sport In no way has there
yet been found target that so nearly re-
sembles the flight of wild bird as does
that Of a strong, swift pigeon when released
from trap. Hence the sport has been
most popular for over 4 hundred years.
That much we know.
CLUB MATCHES.
How long it was practiced before that
there is only suppositon to guide us. 1t is
matter of history that in England as early
as 1890 shooting clubs were III full action
whose contests were always at pigeons.
Similar to the manner of this day matches
between single members of different clubs
or between teams of a number OF men from
rival associations We're most frequent. One
thing which at that date contributed largely
10 the success of these clubs Was the fact
that only privileged class was allowed to
shoot game. At the traps all were equal
Without doubt to this fact does pigeon
shooting. in Great Britain at least, owe
much of its popularity. To show how ar
bitrary is custom and how little change is
effected by time in the manner OF conduct
Ing these affairs is to state that 100 years
ago. as now, it was customary for the land
lords of inns to advertise sundry prizes to
be shot for on certain days.
PRIZES CONTESTED FOR.
These prizes were generally pieces of
silver plate. An entry Zee was charged each
contestant; the landlord, wise in his gener-
alton, both giving ard receiving. He gave
q capital day 5 sport to those fond OF shoot
ing and was reimbursed IN goodly fashion
for the trouble and expense incurred.
Then, as now. the pigeon chosen for the
work was the blue Rock, wild bird indi-
gen0uS to Great Britain. The Blue Rock
doye-f0r this crack flyer is d0ye-is in
color a beautiful blue slate, with TWO broad
bands of black running across the wings.
At the rump also is a tuft of white fleecy
feathers. This banding of the wings is one
showing the power OF heredlty as strongly
as it can be shown. There are thousands
upon thousands OF pigeons in this country
to-day showing this marking aud colOring
as plainly as any of their ancestors OF
hundreds of years ago. The hue Of the
neck feathers is that OF the rainbow. As
the sun strikes the bird these CLEAN in
irdescent color-a blending of gold, of blue
anu Of purple, which is beautiful in the
extreme.
THE "DoYE-HoUsE."
Another pigeon of Great Britain used in
these contests was the ''DOyehOuse. He is
similar TO, in fact almost Identical with, the
Blue Rock. Each is a wild bird. While the
first named, however, seeks the most Inac-
cessbie spots for his breeding places, the
zation. The Blue Rock, as his name i'm
plies, haunts the caverns. the creyices of
huge rocks, the beeillng crag or cliff,
wherein to rear his brood. The DOvehOuse,
however, affects the towers and belfries of
old churches and the ruined remains of cas-
tie walls for his abode. The latter is al
most Identical in colOring with his harder
brother. He lacks, however, the black
bands on the wings. ana the tuft at the
root OF the tail feathers is light slate in-
stead of white Hence it takes almost an
expert TO determine (which is which" To
an ordinary observer they are one and the
same bird. In contradistinction to the
Blue Rock the DovehOuse pigeon may, by
quaint and hasty abbreyiation. be known as
''duffer." Thus when the spectator of
pigeon match of to-day uses the phrase, III
reference to slow flying bird, "he's a duff
fer" he uuconsciously designates it as did
the spoItsmen OF century ago, when a.
luding to poor-in-fight pigeon. These two
kinds OF birds or their descendants, both
in England and this country, are the ones
universally u sed for trap-shOoting contests.