The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-18

all be placed in Geographic connection
with Washington. In case of HOSTILE
ties with foreign powers the authorl-
ties at headquarters will hereafter be
able to receive constant advices of ev-
cry move made by hostile vessels after
entering the waters within hundred
miles or more of our Atlantic shore.
Within a few weeks work will begin
upon pigeon lofts to be built at our
more important eastern navy yards
and harbor entrances. Additional
ones will afterward be constructed in a
continuous chain, including many of
the lighthouses, life saving stations
and fortresses from Maine, along the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, to Texas.
Later the same system will probably
be applied to the Pacific and Great
Lake coasts. The most important sta
lions in time of war would be those
nearest Canada and the West Indies.
Our fast cruisers could then scout the
corners of the country, keeping an eye
upon the enemy from the time they
first approached us.
The pigeons will be confined at the
new stations for about a year, that
they may forget their old homes and
become we'll acquainted with the sur
roundings of the new ones After this
they will be put through an interesting
training. They will be taught to re-
turn to the proper coop from vessels
off shore. The first lessons will be for
short distances. These will be gradu-
ally Increased until the birds can re-
turn from three or four hundred miles
out and sometimes farther 1t is esti-
mated that after six months of train
ing flights of one hundred and fifty
miles can be made at the rate of from
thirty-five to forty miles an hour.
The seacoast being divided into equal
sections with the pigeon stations in
| their centres, each group Of birds will
| be made familiar with all Of the shore
| in that district Charts showing the
| locations of all coops will be issued to
the commanders of coasting vessels
cooperating. These vessels, it is also
proposed, will contain eoops, each divi-
| ded into compartments corresponding
| to a pigeon station on shore and la
! belled to that effect.
Suppose that a scouting cruiser be
leaving New York for Key West. Bas-
| kets of homing pigeons are sent by ex-
| press to New York from all of the in
| termediate, stations and placed in their
| proper compartments on board. Dur
| ing the cruise it is desired to commu-
nicate with Washington. The officer
| in charge notes what pigeon district he
lies opposite. He takes two birds from
the corresponding compartment at
| taches duplicate messages addressed
| to the navy department and liberates
them. In few hours they reach their
| coops. Their arrival is here noted by
| the lighthouse tender life saving crew
| or commander of the fortress or navy
| yard He detaches the message and
telegraphs it at once to the secretary Of
the navy To provide against delay
caused by such pigeons as might go
astray in foggy weather or which
might be let out at the wrong place it
| is proposed that all of the coops or
lofts along the coast be built and
painted alike The birds would natu-
rally follow the shore until reaching
the first familiar abode of this kind.
i Here they would fina other pigeons
A feeding and they woulh naturally stop
Arrival at the wrong loft would be
noted and the message received ana
4 forwarded Immediately.
The officers advising Secretary Her
bert concerning this new system are
Professor Marion of the naval acade-
nv. Lieutenant knight and Ensign
Eberle of the navy, all of whom have
been practising with homing pigeons
for a year or more. To the last-named
i officer the writer is indebted for the
greater part of his general information
on this subject. A large pigeon loft
was several years ago constructed
above the boat house at Annapolis and
this has since been kept full of valua-
BILE homers. Experiments carried on
with these from time to time were
f what convinced Secretary Herbert OF
the value of the new service, both TO.
peace and war times.
Pigeons from the Annapolis loft have
already found their way home wher
liberated from vessels two hundred
and fifty miles away. One let loose
at Norfolk recently reached Annapo-
lis. one hundred and fifty miles miles
AWAY. within three hours and forty.
f five minutes. During last summer one
hundred and ten trips were made by
eighteen pigeons, all of them finding
{ their way home, although never flying
before over the coasts traversed. Ar
interesting experiment was made tc
learn how long pigeon can be kept
aboard ship without forgetting it's way
home One kept below decks in 8
small basket was let out off Winter
Quarter Shoal twenty-five days after II
had left it's home loft. 1t returned tc
ANNAPOLIS in nine hours, over a per-
fectly strange course. During last
winter two pigeons were let loose from
the Amphitrite in Lynn, Haven Bay
Il one hundred and twenty-five miles
from Annapolis. They left the vesse
after breakfast and arrived at the Ma
val academy in the afternoon. One
bore a message to Admiral Bunce stat.
ing that the Amphitrite was snow
bound. The message was received by
the admiral at the New York navy
yard on the same day.
From these and other experiments i
is estimated that well-trained pigeon:
will fly over familiar routes at from
forty to fifty miles per hour. On
pigeon has been known to fly at {
4 speed of seventy-five miles an hour, OF
a mile in forty-eight seconds. Pigeon:
trained for land flights have made q:
high as five hundred miles in one trip
Tt is thought that sea flights of -four
i h.