THE RACING PIGEON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 53, 4 March 1930, Page 15

THE RACING PIGEON.

CALCULATING VELOCITIES.

PAST AND SLOW VARIATIONS.

AVICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

i, The computation of velocities and the method arrived at for allowance of fast and slow clocks is apt to bewilder the racing pigeon fancier who has not made a study of this fascinating part of the scientific hobby, and, though it is quite correct to leave the working of these problems to a clock committee set up fo r this specific purpose, nevertheless, the fancier -who understands the working of his somewhat complicated clock will have an additional interest in his hobby. With the continuous running clock of •puncture or printed timing there is a slot in which to place the ring taken off the racer upon arrival home. Upon placing the ring in the clock and pressing the trigger, the time is either stamped upon the paper roll or punctured through the twenty-four hour dial, which is divided into minutes and also subdivided into ten-second divisions.

When the velocities are close together clock variations must be worked out fully by simple proportion to the seconds as shown below, and not roughly on the principle of the clock running so many hours. When the minutes and seconds are not taken into the calculation the results may easily affect the position ol the first few birds.

There are four separate combination's of clock variations: Start slow—finish slow; start slow —finish fast; start fas'., —finish fast; start fast —finish slow. Example I.—(Start slow —finish slow.) The figures given are merely an example. Master time at first puncture of sett:ng=Bh 8m 30s p.m. •Fancier's first puncture at setting= Sh, 8m 20s p.m. Therefore clock is 10s slow. Master clock puncture at finisli= 2h 21m p.m. Clock puncture at finish= 2b 20m p.m. Therefore the fancier's clock has lost lm. Now deduct seconds slow at start from total slow, which leaves 50s slow. Clocking time of first bird home is (say) 12h 30m 15s. Now obtain-the fraction slow from time clock started running until the first bird's arrival. The clock has run a total of 18h 12h 30s. Time from start to first bird's arrival is l(>h 21m 455. The proportion sum is therefore worked out by bringing- the times to seconds and multiplying the seconds in 16h 21m 45s by 50s, then dividing by the total seconds in 18h 12m 30s. The sum would now read: 65,550 into 2,945,250, and the answer is 4493, or 455, which is accurate enough. Had we merclj worked out the proportion of 16 over 13h the answer would have been 44.445, and, being nearer the 44, the fancier would have lost a second. ! As a bird travelling fast at the home I end of a race can cover a distance of ' 72ft per second, it will readily be seer. !.how vital is the matter of one second '■possible error in the clock computations. I The 45s is now added to the 10s slow at I-the start, and the total of 55s is added to t-the clocking-in time of the _ first bird, •which makes the actual clocking-in time 12h 31m 10s p.m. This is now reduced to 60th seconds and divided into the distance, which is reduced to 60th yards, and the answer is thus obtained in so many yards velocity per mimlte. Next week's article will give the remaining three combinations of clock variations.

i The North Island championships for jkgeons for the 1930 season shows are as follow: — _ k Stratford Club Show, July 10 to 12.— Working homer male and female. - .'Hutt Valley, last week in June. — Tnrbits. . Whangarei, second week m May. — Hbmer, colour class, male; magpies, fesmale. _ ~ , , Hawera, June 25 to 27.—English owls. New Plymouth, June 11 to 13.—Fantaiils. SVanganui, July 3 to s.—Tumblers, finches. , ~ _ , Hastings, July 18 and 19.—Mule, light. jManawatu (Palmerston North), Jund 18 to 20.—African owls, Jacobins, mule, dark. , , , , ' Auckland Yorkshire Club, date not yet decided.—Yorkshire buff. Auckland Canary and Cage Bird Club, July 25 and 26.—Yorkshire, yellow Norwich, buff. Wellingotn Canary Club, date not yet decided.—Yorkshire, colour fed; Norwich, yellow. A. and P. Pigeon Section.

Though the first show under the auspices of this society, there were a number otf fine specimens of the racing and fancy pigeons benched at Alexandra Park showgrounds last Friday. With moulding season being in, both young and old birds are renewing feathers freely 1 , which prevented many breeders sending in their champions. The fantails were nice specimens. Dragoons were a small section, but classy birds. Mr. B. Dnncan scored nicely with pouters and magpies. Mr. H. B. J. Bull won with baldlieads, and also in all the colour racing pigieon classes. The racing mileage classes were won by Mr. E. J. Buchanan, who exhibited several very fine and typical long distance birds, in very good condition. As there is every opportunity to organise a large show for nest year, breeders will be better able to select birds.

Colour Breeding in canaries is a popular hobby with tlie more experienced fanciers. The rich yellows and golden buffs are obtained not only by careful breeding but by feeding. This is achieved by the use of food containing a harmless colouring matter and obtainable at the specialist stores. The breeding of whSte canaries, however, is purely a breeding problem. There are numbers of handsome white canaries in England of all varieties of the canary family, and the ; chief object in obtaining this colour is to breed out all colour pigment by breeding - a pair of buffs together, repeating tlii! each generation until the colour pig r: it gradually fades away. Clear bird ould be used as well a* those fron - rnraon parents, as there is a tender?, to albinoism with such birds. It is considered that live years at "least must be" spent in careful mating to obtain this rare colour, though the purchase of white specimens locally, or importing them through a reputable firm catering for breeders, will enable white ■ specimens to be bred without delay; ' Goldfinches aire now easily captured, with the young well on the wing and congregating, upon the seed heads of thistles, cosmos, etc. The use of birdlime . is unsatisfactory, and entails cleaning off with butter or oil. The trap with a spring lad, obtainable locally, can contain several seed heads and young birds caught without damage to plumage or causing undue shock. Numbers of goldfinches should i not be kept in a small aviary, as the males are very pugnacious and will kill each other oil until there, are only one or two left. In a well kept aviary a selection of the finch family, with a fejv canaries, gives an ideal hobby to those fond of birds.

CORNWALL CLUB. ' The above elub flew the first classic race of the young bird series, The Oaks, from Taumarunui, on Saturday. Mr. E. Harland's fine r c h Welcome Home won by a comfortable margin. Results are as follow :— Mr. E. Harland's r c h Welcome Home, 1110 yds 1 Mr. R. Wattam's b c h Lady Gay, 1032 yds 2 : Mr. C. Young's bch Lady Bell, 1029 yds 3. Mr. B. Rothery's r c h, 1000 yds; Mr. R. Fullerton's blk c h, 935 yds; Mr. C. ! Clark's r c h, 900 yds. HIKURANGI HOMING CLUB. A flock of 181* young birds were sent to Papakura by the Hikurangi Homing Club on Friday last, the 28th, for liberation on Saturday morning. They were: liberated in splendid weather at 10.3 a.m., and the first bird home arrived at 12.17 p.m., flying the 107 miles in 2h 14m. Results:— G. Parsons' Sherriff, 1202.4 yds per mln. 1. L. Davies' Sleepy, 1197 yds 2 Parson Bros.' Black Watch, 1194.5 yds 3 Also flew: G. Hodkinson's Good Boy, 1185.5yd5; H.- Newby's Red Rose, : 1184.4 yds ; J. Hazel's Surprise, 1183.05 yds ; E. Payne's Student Prince, 1182.8 yds; A. Mee's Lonely One, 1181.2 yds; Gilbey and Fearnley's Blue Metal, 1178.4yd5; J. W. Mee's Anzac, 1177.7yd5; J. Baugh's Clown, 1168.1 yds; J. Lawson's Seldom Seen, 1150.2 yds ; H. Harris' Red Rock, 113S.7yds; R. Laurie's Pretty Polly, 1126.6yd5; J. Scott's Dogbar, 1113.9ya5; F. Rix's Golden Arrow, 1094.7yd5. Next Saturday the birds will be liberated at Huntly.