The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1903-05-24
PIGEON FLYING.
Ideal Racing System as Conducted at
Present.

| Present.
1t cannot be imagined for an instant
that athletic" pigeons, those birds
that compete in exciting races over
many States, are ever guilty of foul
tactics on their great aerial track, but
the fact remains that in no sport are
such great precautions taken against
unfair practices as in pigeon flying for
prizes. Could the birds speak they
would probably say that it was "the
thing called man. that the judges have
to keep tabs" OH, and the birds would
be right When pigeons are entered
in such a race there are officials on
hand from the moment the birds leave
their home lofts until they are set
of miles of country. The only reason
that the officials let the birds fly Owe
the course alone is because air shipts
are not yet as numerous or as safe as
railroad trains, and to date they pre-
fer to see to it that the owners are
not guilty of any deception and give
the birds the benefit of any doubt.
All races take place under the rules
of the national association, to which
the competing lofts belong. Every
homing pigeon is registered by number,
sex and color at the national head
quarters of the organization of which
its owner is a member, and wears on
| its leg a metal band OH which is in
scribed its registered number
When a district race is to be held,
say a hundred mile race, which would
be the distance between Jersey City
and Wilmington, Del, the race secre-
tary or committee notifies all the lofts
in the district A competent man is
left at the southern city to start the
birds. Then the officials get in their
work at the northern end of the line.
| One of them must be at the station and
| express the birds. The pigeons are
| taken from the basket one by one and
on the leg of each is attached a metal
counter band bearing a number or let
ter unknown to the birds owner or
| any one else but the official.
A record is then made OF the left
band number. counter band number
and color and sex of the pigeon.
When the birds are started from
the southern point, the liberator teie-
graphs to the race secretary the time
the birds were set free and the direc-
ton of the wind at the time.
Each competing loft owner knows
about the time to expect his entries,
| and ~ on the lookout for them In the
recelv iss part Of the loft with d patent
| 0fissiiiss metal clock i..asd = These
clocks are ingenious contrivances.
When the first bird arrives the loft
| owner as quick as he possibly can slips
the counter band into a receptacl at
one end of the clock and closes slide
| which stops the time-piece and locks
| it, Only the race officials can open it.
Each clock has two separate COM
partments, each of which keeps time,
so the loft owner still has one remain
| ing compartment to register the time
of arrival of his other entries. When
| the second bird arrives its counter is
removed and placed in the second COM
partment which is not locked and
| closed until one hour after the second
bird has arrived, in order to permit
of the timing of all other birds that ar
| rive during that hour When the time
has elapsed and the bands of the birds
are in the slide is securely locked.
Within two hours after the arrival of
his first bird each loft owner must have
his clock at the race secretary's Office.
All the clocks are then opened by that
official for the comparison of times,
in order to determine the winning
birds.-New York Commercial Adyers