The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-03-20
A Girls Work With Pigeons.
Blythe, Delphi Raising
For and Squads For the
IDA VI. JACKSON, Delphi, Ind.

/
pairs OF pigeons and each pair pro-
and you sold them for 81 a dozen.
Figure 1t all out, deducting the cost
Of their living, and see If it isn't
astonishing.
After four years experience Miss
! Blythe is of the opinion that SQUAD
raising is second to no other business,
! provided IL is conducted on common
sense principles. She advised not
TO get confused over the great mass OF
highly colored literature ;'at floods
tn market to-day relative TO this in
| dustry, but TO start in a small way,
! go slowly and learn the business.
Miss Blythe has not as yet gone very
| extensively into the SQUAD business,
| although she is making preparations
to do so. She has been giving the
most OF her attention 10 the shipping
Of mated pairs as foundation stock
| for other breeding lofts. Quite re-
Gently she made several shipments to
| Colorado and Michigan. She has also
| had inquiries about her birds from
old Mexico from reliable purchasers.
| Here are a few of the necessary
things every beginner must heed If
| he would be successful with pigeons:
! Have a suitable place prepared for
your birds in which to liberate them
on arrival. Possibly you have a shed
! or loft that with proper arrangement
will do nicely. There must be two
tc yiro H.
the mother often begins laying again
| before the squads are out of the nest.
\ large shallow pan for bathing and
! plenty of fresh water for drinking are
tamong the necessities. Keep their
! quarters thoroughly clean and spray
with a good disinfectant every week.
! Protect all windows with netting and
give them a chance for a sun bath
and fresh air by erecting a large
." fly" connected with their quarters.
The most important point of all is
! the purchase Of your foundation
stock. Buy Of responsible dealers,
and buy only mated pairs; otherwise
you may get more males than
/ females, or vice versa, because there
| is no sure way to tell the sexes apart.
! Even if there were an equal number
Of males and females they may never
make pairs. They may mate or they
may not.
When these birds mate il is for
life, unless forced to separate. There
are no divorces in Pigeon Loft. 4"
| The father bird takes his share of the
labors of housekeeping with a cheer
| full spirit. He doesn't criticise his
mates dress or conduct, either. You
never hear him say, my dear, 7 see
speck Of dust on your left wing;
better go down to the pool and take
bath On the contrary, about 9
o'clock any morning you may hear
him telling her that there is fine
lecture in pigeon English out in the
"fy," and as she darts off gracefully
he calls after her: stay as long as
you want to, dear; I'll keep the eggs
warm"
There are doubtless still vast posi-
! bilities awaiting development in the
| pigeon industry. If our native pas
senger pigeon (the bird that once was
| as the sands of the seas for numbers,
AMI which was as ruthlessly slaugh-
tered as the buffalo) were obtainable
for cross breeding purposes, what
might not be done in the way of pro-
ducing new varieties? According to
the tales Of early settlers these birds
were prolific beyond belief.
Pigeon breeding mas been engaged
in throughout Europe and Eastern
countries for centuries; at present it
is scarcely more than a pastime in
the United States. OF the 4hree
hundred varieties of pigeons none has
the popular interest or value reached
by 'he carrier or homing breed, which
is trained to return to it's home from
great distances, and is utilized for
carrying messages. New York Trib-
une.