The Winslow mail., 1899-01-14
CT PI0at,.Js
As Carriers in The W. Were Ot
L-.L5 49,.
Tanciees 1ttriBuse s.ie oas'se SO ssae7--
perIe5-u4 cz ,4e Fs-t q those
tianaE4na te -s-4s oA
tIe 5a.1.s.

The reported failure Of CARRIE nj
reoas il 1,ar as a means cf ocn2-2ur j.
cation between sAips and shore has
caused i3cai ianciers speculation IS to
the reason of their apparent non-suc-
Co.'S in the south.
Just before inc declaration Of war
the Iaval authorities maze extensive
preparations for placing in operation
the carrier pigeon service. and esta b.
!ished several cotes at leading naval
stations. These, il was declared, would
oroye successful if certain conditions
were carried cut by these on board
ships. One CT the principal rules laid
down To be followed by ne officers o1
boald lie various ships WAS that tie
pigeons were not to be kept Gagged
more than three weeks al tliae, sd
should be released whenever possible
within two weeks.
The violation of this rule is said by
many LEGAL keepers al cotes to be the
principal reason for the failure OF some
of the birds to successfully perform
their duty.
Mr. E. T. Baker, president of the
National As ociation OF HoLling Ii
Geon Fencie1s and president Of the
american Flying Club, Of Baltimore.
aid recently: III the pigeons are not
taken care Of they Will fail at critical
moments. They are like athletes and
cannot BE worked unicss kep in tram
ms. When consigned 10 q snip they
should be PIT in cAaIa oi one nam
Who VIII iiberate tLcln on Instructions
tron t!'- proper Officer None should
be i5cD longer >Lci. TIVE o. - ce We x
in their cages, and, even though no
messages are sent t1c BIRDS sl-euI.. 1e
liberated Il Iii. IS ret done they can-
not make trip without becoming ex-
&custed.
q placed On The auxiliary cruiser
Dixie q cage Of 20 birds. This cage
VAS especially constructed and cor
tanned water tank and receptacIes
lor food. 1t was built to give the birds
air, and the male and female birds had
separate compartments. ALl cf these
reached the cote successful lN from he
mou,h OF the Chesapeake Day, dis
tance of 200 miles air line. within a
faw hours. Iwenty-one hac 1nesaa agaE,
bile ne Others were liberated purely
for e-crc.se.
"A later batch was shipned to CHpt
Davies. These successfully rerorted
from. n distance Of 2G0 miles al sea.
Hne lad 7rpeao~e for Als Davies
which I tlaus-nitt 4 to her.
"a Fave several letters from ? =.
el 7fand ohicf cf 4'o hUreau q y
l..>lt, co1plimentiag the auac IS OF
he birds. Had the instruct.or ~ireu
tba southern fleet been car~ic1 out.
roua of The birds would kov7 foiic'
-! cote II Eev West o. os1c II ,horl-
J, Il have been 1cert posted az lo
thy doings Of tfc b'o '.adiu2 Il at
il ana Il. tue r'geo @Es e- SOD he
a rs on the loa+ taken rains to
keep the Birds in training.
\ iaci 5f knowledge as to the treat
ment oL Ae PIGEONS is really the cause
fer hei. failure, The cote at San
acisco is rerorte1 II have wo ked
scccessit Iiv. Others in the north ave
Act ii,l similar success. fhc psocae7'
es- euIs'ase uH5 ais atoA oa' RI
b.. tro...il i, "a v-en ee.0e-' re
bad. 10 rcrforrl heir Glties succees-
rulIy hey must not BE kept Gagged IN
I'll III.
They invariably return but fre-
queutly become exhausted uEon the
way. This is frequently caused be-
cause thcir muscles are stiff and they
have head winds to fight. We have
-I>s3,lI ) lem c-7tzat Cd tint n bird
safe md =vvift t1sezss>57 srer= II ia lzer,
care Of, but il neglected trey viii fail
UAlb VI, Dul n ind iItl
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