Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-30
CARRIER PIGEONS.

The pigeon post established Mt Lady
smith and Durham for carrying war
messages has been such a success that
special appropriations for Increasing
tho service will be recommended by the
war Office. a good deal Of this success
Of the pigeon service is due to the skill
and energy OF Colonel IIassard OF the
Royal Engineers. who has spent years
In pigeon culture for Just this sort Of
an emergency, and he has demonstrated
the htncns OF the birds for war pur-
poses. Colonel iiassard. who was sta
toned nt the Cape before hoatilities
broke out. systematically trained his
pigeons for carrying messages across
the rough. mountainous land. and his
various pigeon posts We're OF the
greatest value IN keeping the home
Office apprized OF the exact condition OF
the army.
Nearly every civilized government
now has carrier-pigeons connected with
both their war ana navy departments.
France has entered Into pigeon culture
more extensively than any other Euro
pean power. and II IL roughly estimated
that there are two hundred and nifty
thousand pigeons In that country
trained for war emergencies. The main
pigeon loft or training station " at
Chalons. where several thousand birds
are kept all the time. Every frontier
post and fortress has smaller lofts. and
three times "A week regular commune
cation In kept up between these places
by means OF the pigeons. This pigeon
post In constant practice In times OF
peace would be OF Immediate service
In times OF war. The state protects
tho carriers and any one caught shoot
ing a pigeon OF any kind In France IN
heavily fined. The pigeon service has
been established In France since 1870
THE German war department owns
about ten thousand pigeons, but they
have u system of reserves which they
can call Into service In times of war.
The owners OF private loiNs have to
register their carrier pigeons, and the
war department knows exactly how
many OF che birds II can obtain ut
moments notice.
The Austrian government also relies
largely upon private owncts' pigeons for
service la times OF war. Every bird
IN the country has to be registered ANA
not one can be- sold or sent out OF tho
country without permission. Since 1915
few thousand pigcona have been In
regular service at tho fortrsascf and
frontier posts. Russia ha. military
pigeon system. which IL maintained by
the officers In the cOrpa OF engineers
Little In known about her system, cx-
copt that lofts are scattered through
out the empire. including bleak siberia.
The Intense cold OF the winter months
In the latter place seriously interieics
with the succcse OF the pigeon post
and partly ncutralizcs the good effect
of Il. iialy's pigeon post was cstab-
lished In 1879. and Spain and Portugal
inaugurated similar systems few years
later.
There arc one thousand homing pig
cons ON the books OF the BTitluh navy
and several times this number on the
books OF the army. In the past ten
years the United states army and navy
departments have been Interested In the
carrier pigeons. and we have posts cs-
tabllshcd ut different points through
out the country. Their services have
been useful chiefly In the navy. and eN-
perimcnts are being made constantly
In communicating by this means boz
tween the shore and the ships, There
IL no system OF registering homlng pig
cons In private lofte. and IN an cmer-
gcncy the government In need Of more
pigeons would have 10 depend upon tho
patriotism of the private owners FOR
Increasing It's supply. That there would
| be plenty OF volunteers no one doubts u
| moment Golfers Weekly.