Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-01-18
BIRDS SEEN
ON STAMPS.

\ Iief pigeon is the ligOcal mail mes
senger of man of all the birds of the
AR. and at one time or another it has
rignt Well and truly performed the
duties OF such vocation. During the
siege of Paris in 1870 great many
OF these birds We're carried by bal
looms beyond the Prussian lines,
where they We're laden with missives
for the inhabitants of the cutoff city.
Scores OF them were successful in
getting back to Paris with their valu-
able messages from the outside world.
Otner scores lost their way or fell
victims to the cold weather and ac-
companying storms, or into the snares
of the enemy. The danger of loss
was so great that each set Of letters
or messages was duplicated many
times and sent by as many pigeons. II
is on record that one set OF messages
was sent by thirty pigeons, only one
of which arrived at its destination.
\ The French government has made
Il very interesting report on this SER
vice performed by its feathered
the letters and dispatches were set In
type and printed on small cards,
which were then photographed to
ouCh tlOIo lAil OllC Dla-
con carried in a small waterproof
quill attached to its tail no less than
10000 communications, of which
seven-eighths were private letters. A
| pretty sum was charged the corre-
lspondents for the service, and it is
4 stated that the second pigeon to ar
rive in Paris carri ii dispatches upon
which an aggregate postage of 300,-
600 francs, or 100000, had been
| paid. This is the most notable in
! stance in history in which carrier
! pigeons were employed as mail mes
sengers.
With all the great variety of ami
mails and birds and insects and fishes
and other creatures that have been
used in stamp designs it may appear
strange that the carrier pigeon has
most insignificant part, but it is true
| that its picture is quite scarce in
| philately, while a most conspicuous
part is played by the solemn visaged
slow-fiying horned owl, the frivolous
wagtail, the artistic Tyre bird, the
proud swan, the wingless kiwi and
any number of other members of the
feathere tribe less typical of the aims
of the enterprise in which they are
employed.
Of the very few stamps upon which
the carrier pigeon figures there may
| be mentioned one or two United
States local issues of sixty years ago,
and stamp of Switzerland of 1S45,
which is now worth $50. OF other
birds there is an attractive array on
current postage stamps, some postal
authorities of foreign lands being
particularly favorable to them. The
French dependency, New Caledonia,
/ issued a stamp iI 1903 surcharged
with a bird known as the cagou, with
which species of bird we on this side
of the globe are not as familiar as we
are with some other stamp creatures
of equally distant foreign lands.
The national bird of the South
American republic, Colombia. the
ruffled neck condor, is shown on any
number of the very many varieties
of stamps which that country has is
sued. The Chinese treaty port, WI
hu, make a postal speciality of the
bird, and presents the stamp collector
some of the prettiest designs in this
line. In its first issue, that of 1894,
there are several attractive speci-
mems, all of which are common
enough to be available for any col
lection The half-penny stamp shows
a flight of ducks sufficiently inviting
TO tempt the powder and shot of the
most enthusiastic sportsman. The
one cent stamp bears the picture of
the common pheasant, as does the ten
cent stamp, while the tempting ducks
reappear on the forty cent stamp. In
its issue of stamps two years later
Wuhu again showed it's partially to
the bird family. A pair of cranes is
depicted on two of this issue and the
great white horned owl occupies the
center of two others.
Wuhu does not monopolize the
pheasant Ichang, another Chinese
town, has a stamp showing the beau
tiful Reeves pheasant, while North
Borneo pictures the Argus pheasant
on a five cent issue of 1898. 1t is
natural that some amateurs have con-
founded this picture with that of the
peacock, for the resemblance is
strong, but the number and disposi-
ton of the eyes, as well as the two
long terminal tail feathers are suffi-
cient TO indicate the real variety of
the bird.
The Chinese treaty port, Annoy, has
printed a great many stamps pictur-
ing the beautiful white egret, which
has contributed SO generously to the
decoration of milady's bonnet in re-
cent years. This bird is one of the
most distinguished members of the
heron family and is widely scattered
over the globe, to which fact is re-
sponsible the partial independence of
the American woman of the Annoy
bird
The emu, or cassowary, and the
Tyre bird carry thousands of letters
and packages through the mail SER
vice of New South Wales. They first
appeared together in the issue of
1888 and have done noble duty since
then. While treasured by collectors
on account, of their attractiveness,
they are easily and cheaply obtaina-
able.
More valuable than these are three |
bird stamps issued by Japan in 1875. |
One represents gan, or wild goose, |
another is a wagtail, while the third !
is a falcon. More recent issues of
Japan show pair of swallows.
China has several stamps showing
a fine wild goose in fight. A Cook |
Islands stamp presents bird called I