The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-01-05

Charles F. Holder in Scientific American.
Travellers from Los Angeles to Pasa-
dena, CAL, as the train winds up the Los
Angeles river to enter the picturesque
Arroyo Seco, at the head of the San
Gabriel valley. are sometimes entertained
by the spectacles of vast focks of birds
which come sweeping on like huge necks
of brilliant summer clouds. In their beau
tiful movements they call to mind the
famous fiocks of Modena, which CEN
fury ago were not only one of the mar
wells of Europe, but of the world. For
centuries the inhabitants of Modena had
been pigeon trainers and flyers, and the
sport became an art. like falconry. The
men who conducted 1t took their posi-
lions in tall towers. and by means of
flags, directed the movements of their
fiocks, some OF which were all dark birds.
others white or blue. The original pigeon
flyers fought their fiocks that, is, flock
was trained to dart into another, knives
being attached to their feet SANCTUARY
contests were carried on in midair, and
when the focks came together slvery
bodies and feathers dropped, telling of
the slaughtering done. But the flyers of
later days merely strive to develop beau
tiful figures and evolutions and to show
the perfection of training.
Nowhere in the world, in all probabili-
ty, can so many tame pigeons be seen in
the air at one time as In or near Los
Angeles The great flocks which sweep
down the arroyo fairly cloud the sky at
times when one stands in the Wildwood
from some feeding ground, and If follow
ed they can be traced to possibly the
only pigeon ranch in America Here the
reader can see at a glance about $1,000
pigeons, assuming that the birds are all
at home, this being the estimated num-
Der on this unique ranch, owned by 7.
G. Johnson Of Los Angeles.
Southern California is particularly fa-
vorable to pigeons. They have few ma
tural enemies, hawks being very scarce,
while the perpetual summer is an import
ant factor. The ranch was started some
years ago by a man who believed that
the SQUAD supply was not equal to the
demand, and he continued until he had
accumulated several thousand birds, up
on which he sold out to the present own
er, who made a study of the question and
entered into with the same zeal that an
orange grower would. AS result Los
Angeles has a ranch which Is curiosity
in itself, ranking with the ostrich ranch
The pigeon ranch covers about eight
acres of sandy, gravelly ground in the
bed of the Los Angeles river, where there
is an abundance of water Here stands the
enormous. ark-shaped loft, or pigeon
house. whose crudities Of architecture are
concealed by the thousands of pigeons
which stand billing and cooling upon the
roof. Fifteen thousand birds fairly cover
the ground and loft, so that at times
from a distance it appears as though some
of the snow from the neighboring Sierras
had been dropped upon the roof The in
crease of this gigantic flock is enormous.
as may be assumed. If the market should
fair, or give out as did that for the Bel
gian hare, Mr.. johnson would be utterly
unable to feed his birds. as in less than
two years he would by calculation have a
possible million birds on his hands. For
tunately. the demand is better than the
supply. and the pigeon ranch sends about
40. 900 squads per year to the market.
The birds which produce this enormous
output are well cared for. the conditions
being all but perfect. The main building
is GO feet In length and 20 feet high; the
exterior and interior being covered with
mating boxes, on the outside standing in
tiers of ten. In all there are between
5000 and 5000 nests. all of which are so ar
ranged that they can be reached by aisIes
or avenues from the interior. fumigated.
cleaned, etc.
A rapid evolution is going on in the
flock. Mr.. Johnson desiring white birds,
is eliminating the. dark ones by selling
them, and as result the flock Is rapidly
becoming white, when 1t was quite the
reverse last year. The statistics OF this:
unique ranch are interesting. The est:-
mated output for the month Is 5000, the
gross income being about 5000 per an