Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-01-22
PIGEONS ON IHE WING.
Instances of the Extraordinary speed
They Acquire.

They Acquire.
The power of pigeons on the wing is
proverbial. All trained birds of this
species have two qualifications IN
marked degree. The first Is speed the
second long and sustained powers OF
flight. This proposition can be amply
demonstrated and the following are
some of the most remarka BILE records:
On October 6. 1850. Sir John Ross dis
patched pair of young pigeons from
Assistance Bay. a little west of Wei
lington Sound, and on October u Il pig
con 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 an hour and half An in
teresting incident of fight is the case
of pigeon which. in 1915. fell wounded
and exhausted at Nauxhall station. then
the terminus of the Southwestern rail
way. 1t bore a message to the effect
that it was one of three dispatched TO
the Duke of Wellington from Ichaboe
was Immediately sent to His Grace, and
by him acknowledged. In pigeon COM
petition some years ago the winning
bird flew from Nentnor to Manchester,
EOS miles. at the rate of fifty miles an
hour. As an experiment a trained
pigeon was recently dispatched from a
northern newspaper office with re-
quest that it might be liberated for its
return journey at 90 a. IN. 1t reached
home at 1:10 p. m. having covered IN
the meantime 14S miles. flying at the
rate of forty miles an hour. Ia the
north pigeons have long been used to
convey messages between country
houses and market towns. and in Rus
STA they are now being employed to
convey negatives of photographs taken
in balloons. 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 We're packed in envelopes,
impenetra bic to light. and then tied to
the feet of the pigeons. which safely and
quickly carried them to the station at
NolIovo. Here Is another interesting
instance of speed and staying power.
The pigeons in question flew from EOr-
dcauX to Manchester. and not only beat
all existing records. but flew more than
seventy miles further than any thing
previously attempted by English flyers.
The winning bird flew at the rate of
1879 yards minute, or over 81 miles an
hour. and that for a distance of 142i5
miles. The same club has flown
birds distances Of 613 and 625 miles.
These latter. however. We're several
days in returning. and in their case
the only wonder Is that they could aC-
compliSh the distance at all. The fol-
lowing is still more interesting. as it
entailcd Il race between birds and in
sectS- \ pigeon fancicr OF Harnme. in
Wcstphalia made q wager that Il dozen.
bees liberated three miles from their
hive would reach it in better time than
a dozen pigeons would reach their cot
from the same distance. The competi-
tors We're given wing at Rhynhcrn. a
village nearly league from Hamne,
and the first bee finished quarter of
minute in advance of the first pigeon.
three other bees reached the goal be-
fore the second pigeon. the main body
of both detachmentS finishing almost
simultaneously an instant or two later.
The bees, too, may be said to have been
handicapped in the race, having been
rolled in flour before starting for pur-
poses of Observation-Disclosures Maya
zine