THE RACING PIGEON.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 30, 6 February 1928, Page 13

THE RACING PIGEON.

SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS.

THE HIGH-FLYING TIPPLER

LOCAL CLUB JOTTINGS.

Lord Dewar, well known for his deep interest in all hobbies connected with animals and birds, has stated in conversation with leading sportsmen that the hobby of racing pigeons is a fascinating one. Dr. Tressider, one of England s keen medical men. has bred a strain known as the Tressiders, and has written very extensively upon the subject of line and in-breeding, and yet again most pigeon fanciers know of the personal and deep interest taken in racing pigeons by Dr. Barker, whose book on the hobby is one of, if not the, premier standard work on the subject. In conversation with one of England's leading medical men fanciers, some years ago, he stated to the writer that if the young men took up the hobby seriously and studied the various laws of breeding connected with the hobby, they would be profoundly astonished at the amount to be learned from what is often termed "just a pigeon." That is just the point this article wishes to touch upon, as the man about town (as M.A.T. would put it) looks upon a pigeon more or less as a piece of bird with feathers on it.

The writer has kept and bred pigeons for 2S years, and, despite close observation and study, there are just as many avenues of scientific exploration connected with the hobby to-day as there were so many years ago. The life cycle of a pigeon, speaking now of racing pigeons, is complete in 12 months' time. From the time the egg is laid to the seventeenth day upon which it hatches, the month in 'rt-hich the youngster takes to grow, feather, and learn to fly, to the eight months in which it completes its moult into adult plumage, there are lessons to be learned that not only apply to pigeons, but which can be applied to human benefit. Matters concerning heredity, the effects °f environment, the individual characteristics of various birds, reversion atavism, and dozens of other problems that are so applicable to our own lives, can be studied and results obtained, not merely by theoretical deduction, but by actual practical demonstration.

To solve the scientific problems affecting the human race requires many generations of study, owing to the human being taking years to arrive at maturity. On the other hand, several of the same problems can be experimented upon, and results quickly found by the use of the pigeons, owing to several generations of birds being bred within two or three rears.

So it is that the more interested an individual becomes in the hobby the avenue of knowledge widens, and he learns that there are many other things in life than merely eating, sleeping, and working for his daily bread. Even Darwin, who revolutionised the ideas upon the origin of species, used pigeons to draw from Nature's storehouse the knowledge he required to display his theories, though his knowledge of pigeons was actually limited and his theories as affecting pigeons totally wrong (but that is merely by the way). It may be taken for granted, therefore, that when scientific and professional men take up the hobby of racing pigeons, there must be something apart from the mere pleasure of seeing them llv to make them so attractive.

Dr. Gordon Stables, so well known among the last generation as one of the foremost English lovers and studiers of fur and feathered hobbies, deemed it the duty of every parent to give to their children some live pet upon which they could lavish affection and interest, and incidentally spend their time. The writer is of the opinion that it should be compulsory for every parent to give birthday presents to boys in the nature of birds or furred pets. Inanimate objects soon lose their charm with youngsters, but that which is moving, living, and has its being directly under the control of the young mind, has a charm and a magnetic attraction that is not dispelled after a 24-hour acquaintance. It has been truly said "Parents who give their children live pets know their children."

This article, therefore, has two objectlessons, one the scientific and brainy knowledge learned from simple pigeons, and the method of training the young mind into sensible and correct channels of thought. The High-flying Tippler. If the reader could see Mr. Vic. Barton, of John Street, Ponsonby, letting his High Flying Tipplers out for their exercise, it would be a revelation to see the way these little morsels of feather, muscle ancl brain wing their way around, climbing higher into the blue until barely visible, and sweeping around the day long without a pause, and only coming down into their lofts when darkness creeps on.

This variety of pigeon is bred in varied colours and sub-varieties. The family of Tipplers are associated with the Tumblers, Long and Short Faced; Rollers that whirl around in the air from dizzy heights, in some cases even ending their whirlwind revolutions with a crash upon the ground, and the Bald Pate Tumbler, that merely performs a few statelv turns.

The High Flying Tippler, however, is what is termed a straight flyer, occasionally an individual bird will perform gyrations in the air, but this is a case of reversion to some ancestral cross.

In Manchester the writer has seen a huge loft containing 400 High Flying Macclesfield Tipplers, kept by an trie lady, now deceased. When liberated from their loft the effect was a snowstorm, so thickly did the little white birds scatter around. By the aid of strong binoculars they could be seen flying around hour after hour, but so under control that when a white fantail was upon the top of the loft as a dropper." the flock would come whirling down like bolts from the blue. This variety of pigeon gives charm because of its dainty ways, and pretty colour of white splashed with brown or black. There are other colours, but pride of place belongs to the white-splashed variety. Club Jottings.

The writer received a humorous but anonymous letter from a fancier who guesses the identity of "Quill." I must thank "Chequer Mendel" for his remarks, and, with the editor's sanction, will give, as required, an article upon Mendelism in my next week's notes. But in future readers will kindly note that any comments should be forwarded to the editor, "Star" office, who will require the writer's name and address, in addition to a nom de plume. The Onehunga Club has opened the young bird racing season, and the well known fancier, Mr. W. Sargent, scored from Te Awamutu. It is doubtful if there is a fancier in the Dominion who has bred better birds than Mr. Sargent, whose strain is responsible for many of

the present-day champions in Auckland. It has been said of this fancier that he can make the racing pigeon do everything but talk.

Within two weeks there will be more than 2000 young racing pigeons competing for the prizes and trophies in the numerous Auckland clubs, and to a\oid congestion fanciers are requested to take delivery of their returned baskets as quickly as possible from the station.