The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-09

are considered good, but some claim a record of IA. The birds thoroughly chilled. are packed breast upwards in buckets
 with perforated bottoms with ice tucked among them, and forwarded by express
 The mating pen is the sitter through which new pairs are added to the per
 manent loft. Here young males and fe-
 males and doubtful pairs are turned loose. Only the finest squabs are eligible
 for entrance when they are able to feed themselves. Here as they reach matii-
 rity -four to six months) after coy and enchanting courtships. they choose part
 ners It is a Darby and Joan relation
 severed alone by death or by intervening
 destiny in the shape of the raiser In
 the mating pen they build their first nest and rear the first suuabs. After mating the male pecks his bride and chases her
 necessarily in his solicitude that she go to her nest and attend to her duties. Pig cons display so much rational sense and sensibility that one Is amazed.
 As soon as it is definitely determined, the male is banded and numbered on his right leg, the female on her left. with the corresponding number. This is pair, mated so indissolubly that they may be
 loosed in a pen of any number Only a
 Sherlock Holmes of an observer versed in pigeon ways, can detect the sexes be- fore pairing. The male is larger and
 
 is more guttural, his expression more masculine.
 Pigeons are prolific for years. They are admirable parents, ideal lovers. They spend themselves without stint for the young At night the mother hovers the eggs with her mate perched beside her. By day he takes her place. Both share equally the stuffng of their clamorous infants. Two weeks suffice for the hatch fI0 IcJo rn iY7dn dny1t 1 members of pigeon society, an egg of the | second nest betokens a new family hard on the heels of the first. Thus do they 1 spend their days, furnishing tender squabs for an epicurean public.
 ESSENTIALS TO PIGEON HEALTH "Cleanliness for health is the slogan in l pigeon raising. Drinking water must be l pure and fresh. The fountains tend to | collect a green scum in summer. They must be secured and sterilized every two 1 days Baths are furnished three times
 weekly in shallow, four-inch deep pans to ! be removed after two hours.
 All food must be wholesome. When the raiser finds ailing pigeons or birds tum- 1 bling in fits, he searches the food trough. 1 Corn with black germ cells and too many peas will cause either trouble. Other wise, pigeon feeding is simple. A pigeon | scratch may be bought, or may be mixed | economically of small corn, peas, whea t. Peas are fattening and take the place of | green food, therefore good for squab l feeding. Green food promotes digestive I troubles in squabs and is best dispensed l with.
 1 Pigeons are easily alarmed. All work needful about the lofts should be accom- ! plished quietly, regularly, and in as few 1 visits as possible. Especially is 1t disturb
 ing to enter the loft at night The
 mothers alarmed, dart from the nest and l in the darkness fail to find them again | Chilled eggs and squabs and consequent | losses ensue.
 I Carelessness and neglect in this enter
 prise demand the same high wages as ir I any other Unwholesome food, 8 draughty ! house, impure drinking water and omit | ted meals interrupt the even tenor of the
 methodica1 birds and the result speaks ir inferior squabs and fewer hatchings l Moreover, one cannot start with poorly | bred birds and expect to have blue rib l boners. Give the best a chance and 4 ones ledger will show balance on the ] right side.
 The well cared for pigeon repays witl l the healthiest, plumpest squabs and in. cludes in the bargain a continuous enter
 tainrnent for the lover of dumb creatures
 Lice mites and fleas are not only troublesome, but they are the direct
 causes of many deaths. Hens cease tc I lay, they desert their matching eggs I chicks are stunted, and all poultry is weakened and subject to disease. Next weeks article explains how to wage wal against these pests and thus avoid theil
 losses.