Semi-weekly herald., 1914-12-28

en- tables and are arranged in tiers
Of six, each tier having seven pairs
Of holes.
The cotes are made of cheapest wood,
each resembling an ordinary soap-box
with two square holes cut in each
side. In front of each hole there is
a little porch, about two inches wide,
forming the roof to similar porch
below. Inside the holes there is
straw, the only furniture in the little
home.
Everywhere, in, on, around and
over this arrangement, are the pig
cons, making charming picture.
Most of them are pure white, but they
vary; many have bit of black
around the eye and spot Of black
on the breast; some have gray wings
with a series Of black dots; others,
brown. The feet and bills are pink;
the eyes black and always surround
ed with a yellow rim. Over these
thousands of birds there float the
sounds Of perpetual cooling, like the
whirring of some distant mill.
If you ramble among them You
will nd them very tame, and if you
proceed far enough you will come to
a building shaped like barn, but
each end of which consists of thir-
teen tiers, of eighteen pairs of holes
Inside there is row upon row of cotes.
In these separate boxes the male and
female birds are placed. Like the os-
trich, squads frequently pair off for
life.
Gentle and tame as they are, the
pigeons are aleo most inquisitive and
will watch the stranger with the
greatest interest. Frequently, how
ever, one will take fright and fly
away, quickly followed by all of the
others, each one giving a scolding
cry. Shortly afterwards, however,
they will return and settle down
among the boulders in the river,
where they look exactly like flock
Of gulls.
The profits from pigeon-raising
come very quickly, since the birds lay
all the year round, except in the fall,
during the moulting period, when they
take a vacation. Two eggs are laid,
and require about eighteen days to
hatch. During this period the male
birds take turns with the female in
sitting upon the eggs. TIE mother
birds feed the little ones by the meth
cd known as Reorganization" which
consists in forcing up predigested
food from their own craw into the
mouths of their young. The squads
are ready to fly, when about three
weeks old. This is also the time when
they are most likely to be killed.
Three-weeks' old squads, at whole
sale, bring from So to SO per dozen.
Each year about five carloads of fer
tilizer are sold to tanneries, orchard
lists and berry-plantations, bringing
$125 a carload.
The birds are fed on wheat and
corn, and it requires the services of
about five men to manage the large
plgeon-ranch. Their duties consist of
FEEDING the birds, cleaning the
boxes, and catching and delivering the
small ones. Little attention is given
to the adult pigeons, as they will not
leave the place.
Experiments have been made In
cross-breeding but, as yet, without
any special advantage, so that mos,
OF the pigeons are interbred, as it
makes no difference in the price of
the SQUAD what its species NAV be-
occasionally, however, homing pig
cons are raised for fanciers, and there
is a suspicion that these also return
sometimes, to swell the multitude
Some few turtle-doves are also raised
for their beauty.
Ihe greatest enemies of the birds
are cats and rats, though it is uncer-
tam how many they kill each wear.
Tor there is no method of keeping a
record OF the age of the pigeons, and
they breed so rapidly that it is i'm
possible to keep an accurate count of
the number.
inis ranch was started sixteen
years ago with 100 birds and, as stat
co. mas now over 10000. At night,
the birds all retire into the cotes as
chickens do into coop.
Republicans have 1t in thoi,. ro,,.