Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-06-26
The Dove of w ar
BY Frederic j. Haskin

can breeders for twenty thousand nom
ing pigeons To be used IN France ne
Department of Agriculture has estab-
lished loft Of the birds at It's experimental
farm, where it will study the problems OF
raising and training them. Congress
has passed law making IT n serious
crime to shoot honing pigeon Pigeo =
trimming ststiors have been established
in all parts Of the country, and there Is a
pigeon recruiting Office in Bosto n. Hom-
iug pigeon fancie rs, who were a short
tune ago regarded as followers Of a pecu-
liarly useless fad, are now officers Of high
rank and among the most valued oi mil-
itnry specialists.
Al of this is evidence that the pigeon
has become a bird Of high Importance.
So much Is heard Of communication IN
the war zone by telephone and wireless.
scmaphorc rocket End alrplano, that
the pigeon is apt to be thought of as a
rather unlmportant supplement To all Of
these mechanical appliances. As matter
Of fact, the pigeon has proved the surest
and most reliable of all and IA accounted
by the French the only means OF main
tanning a iaison between forces under
fire. and the only ono that can be used
regularly under all conditions.
of force from other forces with which
IT is cooperating. telephone lines are IN
variably DESTROYED, visual Il gnalling IS
rendered impossible by smoke and dust
runners are killed or delayed, and mr.
planes often cannot rise from the grourd.
But under thcec conditions the honing
pigeon. so tiny that he IS barely visit ie
from the ground swift as an express
tram, stronger IN will and memory than
any man. will carry message safely
rlnetv-elght times out of one hundred
The French records show that only
per cent of the birds released with messages
fail 10 reach their destinations. Tho loss
OF blrds runs from s 10 rs per cont, buf
most of these die Of exhaustion after rcach-
ing tho COOP
1EssENGER rgDER PfFF.
The most important usc Of the pigeon
ncxt 20 that IN maintaining touch between
forces under FIRE IS 70 carry messages
from aerial observers whether in balloon
or plane Pigeons released ~ an eleva-
tion eighty thousand feet have succe7s-
fully returned to their coope and thev arc
regularly flown from the elevation q SIX
thousand n the thing is skllfully done
the bird can be released from 2 palnc
travelling at one hundred miles an hour
And for this use pigeons have the great
advantage over all other means Of COM
municatlon IN that they can carry small
map or fifteen feet of moving picture
film
Two pigeons are generally released
with duplicates 0f any important tnesSa &c
vet 81 completely arc the birds relied upon
that II they are scarce, a message Il often
entrusted To only one.
The homing pigeon r. masterpiece
Of nature controlled BY selectIve breeding.
lie il perhaps the most perfect of living
things So much power IS stored up ~
his small body that he can fiy from FIVE
- seven hundred miles IN q single dav
Ills lungs are supplemented by nine arr
saca under the skin, which pump warm
air into his blood and also add 10 MS
bn0yancv Ills eyes have wonderful
power and mobility, enabling hlrn 70 note
every detail 0f landscape as ne passes
over il nj a rate Of sixty miles an hour.
I'm addition 10 these physical qualities
ne has the mental gift II memory and the
moral one Of will IN degrees seldom at
tanned bv men Hrs mind literally photo
graphs the landscape for future reference
and he Is capable of driving himself TO the
last ounce Of energy IN his body.
The most remarkable part of his
equipment Is a pair Of ears winch act IS
compasscs. and enable him % orient nm
self lnstantaneouslv when released Tor {
flight Just how the ears perform thi'
function IS not known. but they contaIT
several small canals supplied with VERY
sensitive nerves and when these arr
Injured. the bird loses his sense Of dlrec
ton