The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-19
CRANITOA'C
SCALP AND HAIR FOOD CO.,
526 West Broadway, New York.
WINGED MES>E,G RS or WAR.
Tho Pigeon Post Which 10 Furnishing Much
OF the News from south Africa.
Ern,u N la Nail.

Tho Pigeon Post Which Is Furnishing Much
of the News from south Africa.
From ns Toronto kail and Empire
Presumably the pigeons that are serving as
pos, boys in the Transyaal JUS, now arrived out
on the warship Powerful. unless. which is not
improbable. certain Britishers in Natal or Durham
had established lofts where homing birds were
trained to the country. | an inclined to favor
the former idea owing to the fact that naval
pigeon post has been for some time established
and lofts have been built at Davenport, Gosporl
and Shcerness al a cost Of about 81 900. cou-
pie Of years ago tho Admiralty bought a large
number OF one-month-old birds and placed them
in the Royal Navy loft at Gosport, intending TO
use them for the conveyance Of messages from
warships 10 shore. with a view Of rendering them
serylccabe in time Of war There arc over three
hundred societies in England for the cultivation
Of homers, and many Of the older birds have flown
over seven hundred miles without showing signs
OF Tagging.
A good pigeon will fly over sixty miles an hour
over short distances These times kept with
great care in Germany, and the apparatus for
noung the time Is most ingenious The pigeon
Is taught 10 announce Its arrival at its loft by
knocking with Its bcak against the CLOSET tap
door OF the doyecote, Trs action sets in motion
machinery which filings open the door, admits
hangs s S'I the a. sr s s The Isl
care and patience are necessary while train
ing tue DlrlS ~ mlgnt sem superiluOuS IN
these days Of telephone, telegraph. and wire
less teegraphy 20 go TO the trouble Of training
birds to carry dispatches, but the wisdom Of tho
acion IN made manifest today. whcn the whole
world centres about the message a pigeon may
be carrying among his feathers AZ he wings over
kopie and vcldt on his way to his doycco,e on
You may care to know the way the dispatches
are carried-in tunes OF peace at least Tho
message, II II be a long one, is reduced from tho
original by Photographic process, by which eight
octave pages Of writing or printing may be re
IL then rolled and placed within quill which
IL introduced among the tail feathers Of the pigeon
receiving station removes the despatch, and wish
the aid OF the powerful oNy-hydrogen microscope
magnifes the writing to more than It's arst d.
This process can hardly he in force Just now
at Lndysrith. therefore The dispatches are re-
duccd TO a few necessary, words or lines TO which
the reporter OF correspondent applies the micro
scope OF his imagination and we get the story
maSnitied to nm moe than sven times is 1st d.
smith TO the warship, whore, no doubt, special
provision has been made for them. There can
thc pigeons UP with them when they wentto re-
enforc" Gen Whit, and, released, the birds
would make for their dovrcotc.
To Italy belongs the credit Of having first REQ
gers in war time. Will" now. nearly every Euro
iirds arr better "atayrfs" Than Inc carrier pigeon
proper, and some advance the theory that they
are more Intelligent and easier TO train. Com.
on pigeons, and tho rgining Of iris Is his hobby.
For long time this gentleman and a few officers
trained birds at their own expense, and 20 sue
cessful were their experiments that the lntelli-
gcnre Department took hold OF the matter off,
cially. with the result that IL was prpposcd-and
may possibly hr an accomplished fact by this
ume-to ~ out number OF the armed cruisers
with pigeon cOtcs
The loft at Davenport is built so high that tho
birds can see II when a long way cut al sea. Tho
cotes, which were planned by, Gommander 1ufnell.
are clcverly constructed The birds have gen.
eTAl LIVING ma SlprDlnU quarters with cells
provided where birds Of doubtful character
are held over till their special sins fould out
Each cote has It's hospital, where the sick post
bows are carefully attended to. The officers NJ
the stations are verv earnest in their efforts To
train the birds 10 long distance dying and they
apparently have met with Srcnt Success Az
long ago as 1898 racing birds who were flown
At Thurso in Scotland reached their English
homes, disanC" 81 600 miles, in a single day
the tastes, bird travelling NJ the speed ~ |. 400.
yards minute ] do not know the distance be-
tween I.advsmith and Durham, but roughly glcss-
Ing II from a close study Of the map, II appears
90 be something less Than 200 mites n the Mig
cons on board the Puwrrful-awavs suppOC ing
the ship came out cIUiupci with pigeon post =
are worth their grain the" would be able 10 make
the journey from ai"smith 10 their poHt in threo
hours and half German military pigeons
have tho following records IN their credit: Eighty.
three miles in | hour H2 minutes 30 seconds Four
hundrel and forty miles in hours 80 minutes
Three hundred and Gfty miles in hours and IA
minulGA