The herald., 1897-03-28

own patients think. He is quite likely to
have two patients critically Ill, each pa
tient between twelve miles apart and
each living like distance from the doc
tors own home. Easily it will be seen
that paying daily calls and keeping
poeted with sick persons scattered
about like that becomes almost an i'm
possibility.
These conditions confronted DR.. Lang
for many a long year, and he cudgeled
his brain to some purpose in finding
way to. help himself and at the same
time prove a benefit to his patients. Inc
homing pigeon solved the problem. In
other words. the doctor is the producer,
the pigeon is the middle man and the
patient the cOnsumer-of medicine. In
this particular instance. however, the
middle man benefits both producer and
consumer, a state of affairs as singular
as Dr. Langs project.
The doctor has found time to keep up
on medical topics. take good care of his
patients and cultivate pigeons all three
very successfully. 1t is the success, or
rather the combination of successes,
that has made life easier for him, more
tranquil for his patients and a source of
amusement and interest to every
stranger who hears what is going on.
The doctor says his plan is thorough
success and he recommends brother
practitioners to try ii.
There is nothing difficult about it at
all. The method of procedure is this:
in the first place the doctor keeps in
mind constantly the patients whose con-
dition he is anxious to be thoroughly
posted upon. Then he sends TO each of
these one or more of the carrier pigeons.
according to the severity of the case and
the necessity of frequent communica-
ton. The nurse or some member of the
family of the person who is i'll, has
blanks which the doctor has left and
these must be filled in with a detailed
record of time, pulse, temperature, and
respiration. A blank filled, it is enclos-
ed in an aluminium capsule made to
clasp on the leg. This done the bird is
released and at once speeds away to the
home of the waiting physician at the
rate of a mile a minute In this cOnnec-
tion it is well to remember that while to
the uninitiated the words carrier pig
con" include all pigeons that carry mes
sages, in reality they do not mean that
The homing pigeon is the carrier pigeon
trained to actual, solid, hard work.
When the pigeon of the medico reaches
his destination, DR.. Lang's residence, he
flies to the loft, which has been pre- pared
especially for him and his comrades.
In order to gain this loft. however, he
must pass through what are called bolt
ing wires. These open inward into an
eIClOSule dbUul lWp lttl Square. Here
the prisoner is held until the doctor or
some one designated to perform the SER
vice removes the message. The pigeon
then is free and flies into the loft
In this way DR.. Lang is enabled to
keep thoroughly in touch with his pa
tients at a distance with about or,e- fifth
the amount of travel he would have to
endure under other circumstances. Not
only that, but he is really much better
posted. because il would often happen
that he would altogether be unable to
pay visits to all the patients he should
and so, perhaps, miss seeing a sick per-
gon at just the time when he most nced-
ed to hear from him, at least Under
the system he has devised. he can 60
away from home TO visit patients and
feel sure that when he returns reports
will be awaiting him from Others Should
these reports tell him that a call from
him is an absolute necessity, why, then,
he goes, and that is all there is of it,
On the contrary. however, he very fre-
queptly learns from these reports by
pigeons that a visit from him on q GER
tain day to the patient would have been
wholly unnecessary and have simply
wasted his time Thereby the doctor has
saved the time and trouble Of long and
tedious journey, ard at the same time
knows just how the person is whom he
would have gone to see. if it had not
been for his pigeons. The doctor says
too. that more than once thel ife of pa