The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-04-26
PIGEONS OF PEKING.
Trained by the Owners to Lure Othex
Birds to Join Their Respec-
tive FlOcks.

ing the decoying game that it is be-
cause they like any kind of playing
for keeps" Even in kite flying, they
fix little hooks to their kite strings
and try to pull in each others kites,
and count it fair to keep aAy kite
that drops into their yards. They
will tell you that kite or a strange
pigeon that comes to your place, II
given up, takes away your family
luck" So you must tear the kite and
keep the pigeon. But when you see
the town handles sauntering out with
their fans and bird cages to watch the
noon kite flying. criticising the fiocks
and their tactics, and arguing the
fine points of decoying, you. guess
that ''family luck" has very little to
do with their game.
To decoy strange pigeons, pigeon
keepers must first train their flocks
to ''fly in spirals' is, to rise
steadily in circles without straying
far from the home roof. Pigeons
naturally fly together in circles. Even
wild pigeons wheel about in flocks be-
fore struggling off to the fields. Chi
nese make their birds eager for cir
cling by keeping them shut up in
| wicker house built on the ground
around the dove-cote; and they cure
their birds of struggling by pelting
them with pebbles when they try to
alight anywhere except on one spot
the ridge pole of the roof facing
their wicker house. The flock must
| alight here in bunch and immedi-
ately 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 unmanage-
able. Their food is ,millet, sorghum
seed. or corn, which their keepers use
to get as much work from them as
possible for as little feeding as pos
sible. When there is much flying and
calling down to do, they are usually
fed with millet, which is SO small
that it keeps them eating long whit
without filling them. At other times
their food is sorghum seed. Corn is
not very good for pigeons, but they
are so fond of it that pigeon keepers
usually have it on hand to call them
down when they are already fed.
Chinese talk of three regions OF
pigeon fight; the sparrow region
just above the housetops; the "crowre-
gion," where the crows pass over the
city at daybreak; and the eagle region
In every flock are several strong
winged birds that will rise to the
eagle region. These are the "high-
flyers" which are usually sent up first.
carrying whistles, as challenge to
other flocks to join them. When they
have mounted to some height, the
heavier-winged birds, or ''low-fyers,' .
are sent up to meet them. A few
stay-at-h home birds are kept back to
call the others down, which they do
by flying round the roof and clapping
their wings. Pigeon-whistles were in
early times put on the birds to scare
away hawks. Nowadays the hawks
do not mind them at all, but they
are still useful for attracting stray
pigeons, for signaling, and for guild
ing the younger pigeons when fiocks
become mixed.
In Picking, focks are sent up at
sunrise, at noon. and just before sun
down. Neighboring 1locks always
join, and their keepers then try each
to draw apart his flock with call
birds, so as to bring with it any I'M
wary pigeons from the other flocks.
If a stranger is brought to the roof,
the keeper coaNes it down with his
own birds by throwing millet into the
wicker cage.
No one ever demands back pigeon
lost in this way. Two friends will
sometimes play live pigeons" that
is, give back each others birds that
may be captured from the flock dur
ing the game, but the rule is to play
dead pigeon" or. as the boys say, ''for
keeps."-Alfred ID. Sheffield. in St
Nicholas.
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