Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1900-09-21
PIGEONS AND THE CHINESE
How the Celestaas Make the Bird.
 Eager for =eiscllng


 The Chinese have made pigeon aylne the deeeyiag game that il is bse3Uss they like any kind If playing fol keeps s9ys s6 Nicholas. EsaR II kite-fyieg, they aS little hooks to thej. kite strings and - Q pull iH each others kites. and cont it far te keel any kise that dreps into taezs yards They will tel yea that ElEs or 2 strange pigeon taat cones ta your place. if given ID, lakes 1Eaz y9ul family luck. So you must zsar tas kite and heep the pigeon. 1.at when you see the town danGias saaHtar.n2 out with their fans and HlHa cages 10 watch the noon kite flying, erltieis ing the foeks and their tactics. and arguing the fine points Of aesesiEg you guess that family luck. has very little 70 do with their game. To deeoy strange pigeons. pigeon keepers must first train their focks to "fy in spir. als. that is, to rise steadil.z fn circles without straying far from the home roof. Pigeons naturally fly together in circles. Even wild pigeons wheel about in focks before struggling of to the fields. Chinese make their birds eager for circling by keeping them shut up in wicker house built on the ground around the Govecote, and they cure their birds of struggling by peIt- ing them with pebbles when they try to alight anywhere except on one spot the ridge-pole Of the roof facing the wicker house. The flock must alight here in bunch, and immediately walk down to the caves. This Is done to bring any strange pigeon among them down within sight Of the grain. which is then scattered on the floor Of the wicker house. Pigeons are fed only after flying, for unless hungry, they are lazy and manageable Their food is millet, sorghum seed or corn, which their keepers use to get as much work from them as possible When there is much flying and calling down 70 do, they are usually fed with millet. which is so small that it keeps them eating long time without filling them. At other times their food is sorghum seed. Corn is not yer. good for pig cons, but they are so fond of 1t that pigeon keepers usually have ft on hand to call them down when they are al- HEAVY GUNS DESTROY EARS. Why So Many Artinerymen safor From
 Defective Hearing.
 The stunning report of each gun as it is fred is something that a stranger on the deck of ship of war will long reme~.ber. There IS an old saying "deaf as a post Now in the English navy tkis is changed to deaf as post e ain" No man can go through a lo-s series of gunneFy practices witfas,t having his hearing seriously affect. Some men put cotton in their ears, but even this precautien does lit- tie to deaden the terrible shock And If the firing of one or two guns has such a shattering power, what would be the effect if the whole armament were in action together? It is im- possible to conceive the strain on nerve and senses of the rending concussion. If a visitor watches the firing of one of the monster nl7e-inch guns and then places hir1s2if beside enc of the small CT pic es. the report made by the one will net appear much louder than that of the ether. The extra distance to the muzzle of the big pieces discounts the sound. The only apparent difference betw, en the two appears 10 be that the small pieces have sharper, high er-pityned hoe. and that the six and nine-ineh guns speak with more of a believing roar. One piece of advice may be given to any one who finds himself in the neighborhood of a gun in action. The noise will not have nearly the same effect if you are watching the gun as if the crash comes unexpectedly. Unconsciously nature prepares you to resist a shock which i1 known to be impending.