Evening star., 1898-10-22

DAY ordinary observation OF landmarls
SGch as man uses when he inds his way
MOST utforities are now Inclined to takd
mlddie course, and believe that the pigeon
hnds Its way by methods more or less or
binary, but by very extraordinary skilled
combination of them. We translate below
part OF an article on the subject contrih,-
tei by NJ. A. Thauzies to the Revue Scien-
unique paris, March 26). The authors
assumption that the animal organism ia
sensitive TO magnetic conditions is contrary
10 sclenuhc observation and expprlme.lt
put thls Is only detail Of his theory and
does not materially affect It. NJ Thauzies
after giving reasons for rejecting the the.
ory OF special sense, and other hypoth-
eses put forth on the subject, proceeds 10
state the following facts which he believes
TO be firmly established:
Il Well-trained pigeons, even if taken
very lar aWay-say several hundred miles
from the pigeon cote-get their bearings in
normal atmosphere with wonderful
promptness. without turning about I'm other
directions, without rising 10 a great height
| appeared.
- These same pigeons. left in open air
IN IN thelr baskets several minutes before re-
Ieaslng them. while they are given food
ana drink, look around them walk to and
ifo, evidently studying the sky. until. hav-
ing found out doubtless. what they sought,
they remain quiet. Then. if the baskets ara
opened, they fly or low and almost hori-
Zohtally, without zgZags and in a straight
line, In the proper direction
d. Inc same pigeons, transported 20 a
strange reglon-that Is, for instance where
they must make a southerly tourney when
| they are accustomed to make a mort ha-ly
| one. betray striking degree Of lisguf-
etudc in their baskets at the moment, of
departure; they seem to be surprised and
somewhat taken aback As soon "a they
are tree they fly off eastward making largo
el1pses toward the sun: then they explore
IN all directions. but they always return TO
lIle east with q patient has
10 signify that there is the key of the nrob-
lem and that there alone will be found its
soiutlon. After several minutes cf this,
having reached an altitude of $50 70 200
yards, they disappear in the proper direc-
tion.
~ The earlier in the morning they are
i'LeaSed. the more prompt is their success
IN getting their direction. After noon even
IN calm weather, and even If the distance
Is smaIi, their orientation is dull, slow,
wayering and without vivacity
>. When the day comedies with a changs
ol me moon the orientation, both at the
point OF departure, and also on the route
becomes diificult; the birds return slowly
and at long intervals.
y. FINALLY, even when the sky seems
everywhere very clear II the atmosnhere 90
UNDERGOING any OF those invisible disturb
anccs that are revealed only by the most
dehcate instruments of our observatories,
the pigeons, as in the preceding case besi-
tate, lag behind, and sometimes take double
the time that would be necessary for their
journey under other circumstances.
What must be concluded from these
facts?
The carrier pigeon. a bird eminentIy
e,ectric and of excessive nervous suscepti-
biIIty, is also endowed with prodigiolIslv
sensitive vision and with special intelli-
gence that cannot he doubted. The inde-
fatigable excursions that IT makes. espe-
claliy in the morning. often to considerable
distances around its cote and to all points
of the compass accustom II TO a great
magnetic N~iGq al
WhoSe various characteristics II learns 70
distinguish according to the region where
1t is ana to the hour of the day BY what
may be called its sense of touch and by ita
sight il registers, as IT were like a delI-
cate mechanism, Impressions as varied as
they are complex. which resulting I'm tho
concerted action of the organism. enable Il
to determine in given place at a given mo-
ment the direction In which the dove cote
viii be found
This power OF discernment increases
with the accumulation of heredity OF what
may be called local instinct This Is why
the carrier pigeon is not satisfactory unless
II mas behind IL an ancestral line of carrier
pigeons living in the same region. This is
why, wien. for any cause, the air is dis
turbed, even to a degree imperceptfble TO
man, the pigeons element of investigation
It's means of getting its bearings. being DIFF
ferent and insufficient, il looks about hest
tates, gets its direction with difficulty and
sometimes even is lost.
1T gets its direction best in the morning
because II prefers to fly In the morning
and because the atmospheric notions that
IL gets from this habit are clearer more
distinct and more numerous. IL gets its
bearings without effort in a familiar d.
rection because IL then experiences. even
before leaving the basket the normal SEN
sations that have previously guided II TO-
ward a definite part of the horizon 1t di-
rects itself slowly toward an unknown point
because OF the indecision resulting from the
solicitations Of an already despotic routine
and the new but not less imDerious i'm
preSsions that cause ii to deviate from the
accustomed route.
During the period of training all its
magnetic and visual faculties and its
knowledge of meteorological conditions de-
Neiop little by little, and become more deli
cate; but may afterward fall into a pro-
gressive state of powerlessness, as month
after month of careless leisure dulls their
subtle vivacity. And as 1t is difficult TO
find united in an Individual even when II
has superior natural endoWments the rare
and complex qualities that this wonderful
effort at orientation necessitates we can
thus see without trouble why, by ono
chance or another of Incomplete heredity
the offspring of pigeons of fine quality arc
often Of but mediocre ability"