Year: 1871

that of the hawk. While the one will
do its hundred miles in something
like two hours the other will accom-
plish the same distance in al out an
hour and quarter. The pigeon will
communicate only one way. 1t has IA
strong instructive love of home, and,
when carried from home and set free,
If the distance is not more than 500
miles, will swiftly return to the old
nest Man takes advantage of til,
feeling, anu by entrusing messages To
the birds brought from home he rests
assured that each message will safely
be delivered to friends /, f. behind. An
English writer tells Us =" The courage
and love of home of any of these
birds is SO remarkable that good old
birds, if kept in confinement and bred
from for any length of time (very
commonly two years., will when let
out, leave the lace the instant they
are at liberty and forsake mate, eggs
and young TO try and find their old
home. Many instances are known
where a cock and hen from one lot
have been shut up thus The cock has
been let out while the hen has been
sitting on eggs. This is commonly
done, because it is well known To he Il
strong tie to the bird, and prevents all
but good ones from leaving but "a
soon as he has satified himself that his
home Is To be regained he has rushed in
to the female, do e iu oil the nest and
out, and both have sailed away tOyeth
er. Frequently after u lOrg absence
the bird finds its old home pulled
down, its former owner having rc-
moved. 1t will then hang about the
place, resisting all the efforts of other
pigeoH keepers 20 catch il 10y getting
1t to- settle with their birds and eutic-
ing it with food into their traps. Ii
will in some cases starve to death, ana
often becomes so weak that If it flies
down into the street TO search for food
it is too exhausted To fly up, and is ta-
ken in the hand. When such bird
appears at such Lice in this way,
neighbOrlng pigeon keepers knew it tU
be of q good kind, and resort To every
artifice To catch it, in order to improve
their strain. Sometimes, the bird,
finding its home gone, will return tO
the place from which it has been let
out, mostly on the second, but even Oh
the third day after. The experienced
KEEPER lets il rest for II day or two, Ell
tices it with little hemp seed. and
again lets it out early in the morning
1t is nearly sure tO leave again, but
does not stop so long and returns be-
fore nightlall. Ii is then let out daily,
and its visits to its old home constant
ly decrease, until after few days they
cease altogether"


France was poorly supplied with
carrier pigeons at the breaking out o
the war, but it appears that she has
been making the best use of what she
can command. In Belgium pigeon
dying is a national amusement, and ii
we want the best birds we must go to
that country for them. Pigeons nave
often been experimental with in war,
but the perfection of the signal corps
have nearly superseded them. Still
there are many casses-such aS the siege
of Paris for ihStancc-whcre the signal
corps is pOwerless, while pigeons arr
employed To advantage. In times OF
siegcs these hOme-lOving birds are the
best dependence. History tells Us
that "when MOdene was beSieged,
Brutus, within the walls, kept up an
uninterrupted correspondence with
Hirtius without, and this 10y the as
sistance of pigeons; setting ut nsught
every strategem of the besieger Antony
to stop these winged cOuriers." TrO-
chu. at Paris, has been following in
the steps of Brutus, but Bismarck, if
we may believe the dispatches, has de
vised a plan to Outwit the French.
With his trained hawks he will be
able to stop the fli9ht of many a pigeon
frCighted with important dispatches
from the government at Tours to the
mead of the Department Of defence
cooped up in Paris. There will be no
fierce battles in the clouds, since the
trusty messenger of the French vii
not be able to- offer resistance against
the strong beak and sharp talOns of
the Prussian falcon. But will require
sharp lookout on the part of the in
vaders to discover all the pigeons let
loose at Tours in time to successfully
direct against them the trained hawks
of the Prussian camp. We thus see
war reviving the customs OF the past.
The use of carrier pigeons calls for the
use of falcons, and hereafter trained
birds promise to play an important
part in every prominent siege.